Hammer of Titans, Splitters of the World
by DS04 Oonga Tonga
Summary: Too long have the changes been made too late. A difference in the Hyuga incident leads to a change for Konoha in the better. War threatens to spill blood, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi is staring down the Shinigami till it blinks first. Naruto is the shadow of death for the God of Shinobi. AU and a fresh take on the interactions of Danzo, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Kakashi regarding Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I am currently going through the first stages of starting to rewrite the first three chapters and adding Chapter 4 to the mix. As one reviewer pointed out, thank you UzumakiRend32, that some of my content was a little rushed and the timeline got confused. I also will say that pairings, while a part of the story, are not fully going to be a focus. They will develop naturally as not many people start seeing one person, date, and then marry that one person. The pairings will start to come into play as one-sided crushes or flirtatious interactions as they are younger teenagers, but the pay off will be down the line as they are closer to actual adult age. Now to point out, from what I can gather, the major incidents in timeline occur in this order: Kyubi incident- Konoha 12 are newborn to 1 maybe 2 years old, Cloud Incident- Konoha 12 are 3 to 4 years of age, Uchiha massacre- Konoha 12 are 8 to 9 years of age, Start of Canon- Konoha 12 are 12 to 13 years old. For the purpose of this story they occur in this order: Kyubi incident- Konoha 12 are newborn to 1 maybe 2 years old, Cloud incident- Konoha 12 are 4 to 5 years old (so instead of just being three years after the death of Minato till Cloud declared non-aggression with Konoha, it took a little more involvement from the Sandaime and other higher ups to bring A to the peace table), Uchiha Massacre- Konoha 12 are 8 to 9 years old, Canon start- Konoha 12 are 12-13 years old. Academy, also from what I can otherwise gather, starts somewhere around the age of six. I would also like to plug a podcast that I have been listening too for the last year or so that has helped me tremendously, Fandom Flux Podcast. Also: if anyone would like to Beta Read for me, send me a PM. Thank you and enjoy the chapter.

 **~~~~~Konoha Streets, Nighttime~~~~~~~~**

The darkness had fallen deeply into the streets and alleys, only intermittently broken up by the occasional pools of lantern light hanging from various poles. A small blond boy was walking hand in hand with a lithe figure in a grey, full-length cloak and white animal mask. "It's too late for you to be out at the park, Naruto."

"But it's the only time I can play on the swings without the other kids forcing me off. I just want to have fun too." The blond boy responded to the figure leading him through streets with a slight pout and a whine to his voice.

They continued in silence for a couple blocks before a loud crashing of a trash can alerted to the older of the two to potential danger. He snapped his head to his right as he saw a man dressed in the black bodysuit and hood that is usually associated with infiltration missions. "Naruto stay here." He let go of the boy's hand before starting to take off after the man, noticing a bundle that was moving minutely on the man's shoulder.

"Halt!" Two men barreled out of the same attic dressed in long beige, traditional robes. The man that was running with bundle glanced over his unburdened shoulder before trying to speed up again.

The young operative then disappeared in a swirl of leaves and reappeared on a rooftop in front of the fleeing man. He brandished a kunai and jumped towards the man as the other pursuers had finally started to catch up and caused him to spin around to evade their dual attacks. The operative used all his stealth experience to get directly behind his target and plant the kunai into the small of his back through the spine. The man dropped to the ground with a yell as the bundle bounced off his shoulder and the operative caught it before it could hit the ground with much force. "Lord Hiashi and Lord Hizashi, the target has been apprehended. Please cease and desist with any further hostile actions."

"Yes, Operative Wolf." Hizashi said as he approached the bundle that the operative still had while it squirmed. He took the bundle and opened it to reveal a young toddler age girl with blue hair and pupil-less eyes. "Lord Hiashi, your daughter is safe. Thank you for your help. How long before more ANBU show up?"

"They are already here, Lord Hizashi. I was running point on a squad doing a night patrol." Three more adult figures started to materialize from the shadows as they approached the original operative. "Operatives Horse and Bird take the prisoner to Torture and Interrogation and see that Inoichi and the other high standing interrogators are alerted that this is going to be a rush job for the Hokage." He pulled off the hood from assailant and immediately noticed that it was the ambassador from Kumogakure that had arrived in the village just the day before. "Actually, Inoichi needs to be alerted and him alone. Take the back entrance and allow no one to see the identity of his new play-toy. Operative Goat inform the Hokage of this incident and tell him I'll be there once I drop off our original package at the care facility." The operative bowed respectfully to the two highest members of each branch of the Hyuga clan before heading back down the street to where he had left Naruto.

"That was so cool! You moved so fast." Naruto was bouncing on the toes of his feet as his watcher returned. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

"No, not yet, Naruto. You still need to grow and learn the basics before you can do anything like that." The operative stooped down as he approached and quickly lifted Naruto onto his shoulders and quickly made his way back towards the orphanage that Naruto resided with a quicker pace then he had before. "Now let's get you home for the night." The young boy made a noise of disagreement but was quickly starting to flag even for his high energy due to the late hour. The drop off was made soon after and the operative turned towards the Hokage Tower and disappeared in another swirl of leaves as he started his trek to where the lights high above the skyline were starting to kick on in the tower.

 **~~~~~Hokage Office, Soon After Incident~~~~~**

The operative from the incident kneeled in front of the desk of the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Behind the desk was Hiruzen, seated in his throne-like chair, and his three-member Elders Council. "Lord Hokage, Operative Wolf reporting in. The incident occurred when Team Ro were doing our regular sweep of the village due to the presence of hostile diplomats within the village. We encountered young Naruto at the park just outside the Academy grounds on the playground equipment. My team stayed within the shadows and I approached the boy. He quickly settled down once he recognized the ANBU attire and started to proceed with me to the orphanage that he currently resides in. On the way, we heard a crashing sound emanating from an alleyway; and the Kumogakure then emerged in standard infiltration gear. I ordered Naruto to stay put and my team stayed in a defensive position around the boy in case he was a priority objective in the attack. The man then took off away from myself and Lords Hiashi and Hizashi emerged hot on his trail. I proceeded to then use the Body Flicker Technique to reposition myself above and ahead of the target. He then spun around when Hiashi and Hizashi got within physical striking range with their clan techniques. I then applied chakra to myself to speed up my movement and closed range before he was ready for me and struck with my kunai to his lower spine, rendering him unable to move and engage due to the shock of loss of severing the nerves there. I then had two of my team gather him up and transport him through the ANBU entrance to the Torture and Interrogation department and to retrieve Inoichi, while the last member came to rouse you. Lord Hizashi was identifying that the bundle the Kumo ninja had been carrying contained Lady Hinata. I then took Naruto back to the orphanage and proceeded here while the Hyuga members headed back to their clan compound."

"Good, Kakashi, excellent work. Inoichi has started in on the interrogation. I'll need a written report from all Team Ro members by the end of your rotation tonight. You're dismissed." Kakashi then saluted and disappeared in a Body Flicker. Hiruzen then motioned for his Elder Council to take the seats in the office while he took a bottle of rice wine from his desk and proceeded to fill a saucer for each of the people present.

"Well, this leaves an interesting predicament for us to guide the village through." An elderly man with glasses said as he accepted the saucer Hiruzen was offering him.

"That it does, Homura. Do you have any insights into the situation Koharu?" Hiruzen asked as he finished handing out the saucers to the three in his office while avoiding eye contact with the heavily bandaged man that was watching his moves closely since Kakashi had left the office.

An elderly woman with two senbon needles holding up the buns in her hair took a sip of the rice wine before taking a second two gather her thoughts. "Well, we can expect A to be rather up in arms over this but if Inoichi can gather who exactly gave the orders we can either blackmail him into staying at the peace table in a now neutral location to the two of us, say somewhere just outside of Takigakure or maybe Yugakure, or we can offer up the information of who was trying to subvert him to meet in the Lightning Daimyo's court with representatives of the Fire Daimyo's court present to hammer out a treaty that he'll be bound to more than a non-aggression pact because of the Daimyo's being involved and the risk to their admittedly larger economy due to Daimyo influence as a hostage piece."

The bandaged man just continued to sit still with the saucer on the arm of his chair untouched, a heavy sigh leaving his lips. "Hiruzen, this can't be allowed to pass unpunished. That would leave us looking weaker to Iwagakure and Sunagakure. We have the treaty with Sunagakure; but, without your predecessor here to deter Iwagakure, we might not be able to keep them from trying to reignite war."

"Ah, Danzo, I'm surprised it took this long for the war option to be introduced by you."

Homura sat forward and put his empty saucer on the desk and waved off the offer of another. "We honestly can't let it go unpunished, but we can't try to back Kumogakure into a corner or even seem like it. A would not take something like that lying down and would potentially still reignite war but then they'd drag Iwagakure into it and we'd be right back in the mire of the Third Shinobi World War as Sunagakure and Kirigakure are too affected by casualties and we'd all be fighting a two-front war."

"I know we can't let it go unpunished. We need to be prepared for anything, but we must have a balance the punishment with pros for us and cons for Kumogakure. This also needs us to start looking at the future. What's the latest take on Jiraiya's report about the other Kages and our own rumblings of misgivings in the village?" Hiruzen steepled his fingers as he looked to Danzo, knowing that the man would have been going over the report religiously since they received it the day before via summoned courier.

"A is willing to continue building his military even during the time of a non-aggression treaty. His weapon production has only slowed down by about a twenty percent margin versus the forty percent margins of Sunagakure and Iwagakure." Danzo started off saying, then swiftly followed with the next village on level of threat. "Onoki of Both Scales is scaled down but they're still putting out several more genin teams a year to try to bolster their ranks and weapon production will most likely spike again here in the next couple years. Rasa, on the other hand, can't bolster his ranks too much and due to the beginning signs of the Daimyo funneling some of his funds elsewhere, namely us and Amegakure, he's facing the beginning of some hard times. I don't see them trying anything for the foreseeable future as he hides behind their mutual treaty with us to improve their genin quality and get another war chest going so he can contract out to Ishigakure and the Land of Iron for weapon materials. The hardest to read would be Yagura…"

"Ah, yes, the reasonably young Mizukage has closed their borders and the first grumblings of resentment have started to come from the Land of Water since he assumed leadership halfway through the war. He's become more tyrannical and the seeming unhappiness of squads like the Seven Shinobi Swordsman towards some of the Kekkai Genkai clans has started to push out refugees just before the full closure of borders." Koharu said as she finished topping off her saucer with the proffered bottle of rice wine.

Danzo cleared his throat and started up again once Hiruzen motioned for him to continue. "Yes, Yagura hasn't slowed down at all in weapon production. The problem with that is that there hasn't been a single team leaving Land of Water areas of influence for the last three months. Something is boiling over the top there. Closed borders there is going to slow down our information flow unless we can have Jiraiya there in a mostly permanent capacity for the next couple of years. Plus, the rumblings of Orochimaru being spotted crossing over to the outlying islands last month means trouble for us if his experiments continue in the vain from when he was chased out of the village last year."

Hiruzen sighed deeply and downed his saucer in one go. "Yes, Jiraiya left a message on the report that he was going to breach the borders over there and I'll send a courier for him to set up base for the next three years. Orochimaru, on the other hand, is going to be a hassle because we can't afford to send a frontline team like Team Ro after him with Kirigakure on heightened alert. We'll have to have watchers on the major ports from here on out. Now, what about the Uchiha concern that Jiraiya brought to our attention when he went through one of their ancestral supply towns?"

Homura held up one hand in front of him to cut off the other two that had moved to start speaking. "It is troubling that Fugaku is dealing with a build-up towards a coup d'état. The isolation that we resorted to after the Kyubi incident is only working against us at this point. I think we need to start assimilating them more regularly and putting a few plants in the Military Police Force to keep tabs as well. We should also look at the young rising stars of the Uchiha clan like Shisui and Itachi. Shisui is looking to be fast-tracked from chunin to jounin, and Itachi graduated early and looks to be becoming a chunin in the next two exams."

"Good ideas. I think that would be beneficial, but we also need contingency plans for everything. I would suggest that we look to bring Fugaku a step closer to be a part of a leadership role for the village. I think if we set up a secondary council beyond ourselves that addresses conflicts within the ranks of our chunin and jounin that would be manned by Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyuga, and Choza Akimichi. Shikaku Nara would also be helpful here as the Jounin Commander and would be a voice of reason along with Choza while the mindsets of Fugaku and Hiashi are more strictly ingrained through their own clan politics." Hiruzen said as he looked to Koharu.

"I agree with that set up, but that also still leaves the problem of the various mobilization states of the other countries. We need to ramp down on outer appearances and keep going towards a higher level of troop preparedness in case this ploy with Kumogakure hits rock bottom."

"Danzo, you want to say something here?"

"We've known each other since Tobirama took on your team after the passing of Hashirama. I know how you feel about the increased risk we've seen in early graduates like Kakashi and even some of the trauma that has been observed in Itachi for his battlefield clean-up duties the past two years. The problem is that we cannot allow the continual coddling of graduates that we also see. Root, while essential and needed for some operations, can only stay truly clandestine with a limited number of operators and I'm quickly approaching that number with the ones that slip through our academy cracks. The academy needs revitalized; and weapon production needs to be scaled down within the village itself. A loophole would be the caravans we get from the Fire Daimyo. That would easily allow us to reallocate some of our ninja blacksmiths to the capital where they would work out of the samurai and guardian districts and slip in the products with the caravans of food supplies and mercantile products."

"The academy revitalization would look like what?" Curiosity peaked by the suggestion, Hiruzen eyes practically glimmered in the low light of the office.

Koharu made the first suggestion. "We've always set aside D-ranks for the genin, but we could downgrade some of the in-village ones for the last three years of academy to do and we can get a clearer view of team dynamics that develop in the class. That would lead to a higher graduation rate of the Jounin Test from the sixty percent it currently sits at up to a better eighty or ninety percent."

Homura spoke up at this point at this point. "We could also work on chakra control for the first two years of the last three years and test for chakra element the beginning of last year so that we know what development they need to get so they can be battle ready."

Danzo sat forward, "We should also incorporate weapons training and physical training from the beginning year. They usually enter at six and six years would at least allow them to be proficient at kunai, shuriken, and another weapon that would help expand adaptability for when they're on a battlefield and low on chakra."

"We could also incorporate a lot of the jounin and some of the upper chunin that are on village furlough into training the children in their D-rank missions, mock battles, and logistic planning sessions so that our upper echelon is imparting tried and true methods while also keeping them sharp. The coming academy year starts next month. Get a new curriculum started and we'll gather the chunin instructors here in two weeks to give them their new marching orders. The war isn't something we should be seeking, but even in peace we need to prepare the future generations for when we step down. Now we need the results from Inoichi to see what we send to Kumogakure in response for this foray and attempted kidnapping of a clan heir."

"What is the carrot and what is the stick in this situation?" Homura said as he looked to Danzo and Koharu.

"We can't afford to dangle continuing warfare as the stick in this situation. Our economy needs to recover, especially after the Kyubi's attack, and it can't do that if we spring right back into the middle of a war. The realistic stick would be that we would be able to publicly embarrass the whole of Kumogakure through the Lightning Daimyo's court and deter a lot of the clandestine operations away from them while also now possessing a political prisoner. Demanding one of their younger ninja like Darui, A's protégé, or Yugito Nii, a promising chunin, as additional hostages would also make this a worthwhile stick to use against A." Danzo said as he leaned on the top of his cane.

"The carrot would be that we could have a total treaty that would be affirmed by us turning over the information leading to the apprehension of rogue elements instead of aiding them through our own networks. We could also then offer up a few small snippets of information that would allow them to better prepare against Kitsuchi, Onoki's son, and the jinchuriki that Iwagakure possess. I know for a fact that Roshi did not make an appearance on the battlefields that Kumogakure occupied when they turned on each other after the Kyubi incident didn't take us down quite like they thought it would." Hiruzen said as he rubbed and twisted his goatee between his thumb and index fingers. "I would like to adjourn for tonight and will reconvene when I get the report from Inoichi. Good evening." The rest of the Elder Council stood from their seats and started to head for the door as Hiruzen light a pipe and started to smoke and write down notes.

 **~~~~~Hokage Office, Next Afternoon~~~~**

Hiruzen sat at his desk while looking towards the windows that looked out over the village. The sun sat low above the Hokage Mountain as it moved towards evening. A knock sounded from the entrance to his office and broke the spell of monotony that he had settled. "Enter."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage." A tall, lithe blond man said as he entered and bowed before approaching the desk of his village leader. He withdrew a folder from his jacket and set it on the space in front of the Hokage and opened one side to show a small stack of papers. "The Head Jounin from Kumogakure has gone through the opening stages of interrogation. We were able to gather that the main objective was to try to get a thorough look at our defenses and whether the non-aggression treaty would be worth it. The secondary objective would be to get the non-aggression treaty signed. The objective of opportunity was to get a main branch Hyuga if he could while in the village. The order was given by A himself, but the scroll bore the symbol of the Sandaime Raikage and not A's own symbol. The implications are interesting as this shows A is still trying to strengthen his hold on power since the passing of his Sandaime three years ago."

"What else was garnered from the interrogation thus far?"

"The interrogation has confirmed that Killer Bee attained the full synchronization with his Tailed Beast. Nothing else of note has been discovered at this point, but we have only been through the last month or so of memories. We will be continuing after he finishes his medical treatment for the spinal wound that Operative Wolf of Team Ro inflicted upon him."

"You're dismissed, Inoichi. Keep me updated on your progress and proceed with the plans to bring in Ibiki Morino for the department. He should be returning from a final deployment around Kirigakure in the next few days."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Inoichi snapped a salute and spun on his heel to head back to door.

"Operative Cat please retrieve Operative Wolf for me and then tell the Elder Council that we will convene in two hours." A female draped in a beige full-length cloak and a cat mask appeared before the Hokage and saluted before disappearing in a Body Flicker Technique.

Hiruzen then proceeded to wait, lighting his pipe and setting out two cups of tea. A displacement of air alerted Hiruzen to the new presence in his office. "Kakashi, take a seat."

The man was now in regular jounin garb of blue shirt and pants with a dark green vest over his shirt. A blue facemask covered from the nose down and his headband was slanted over his left eye. His silver hair was sticking up in a fashion that reminded Hiruzen of the long grass atop a scarecrow that Kakashi was named after. "You wished to speak to me, Lord Hokage."

"Yes, I believe it is time that we faced down one of the problems that is going to be quickly approaching in one of our youth." Hiruzen offered a tea cup to Kakashi and motioned to the seat that was to left side of his desk. "Young Naruto is going to be needing a more hands on approach soon. With this incident and reports we've received, I believe that we are going to be overhauling even our peacetime curriculum to better reflect the realities of a ninja's lifestyle. While it won't be as hyper-focused as a wartime curriculum, it will be something that looks at the skills of an individual and pairs them with the skills of a team. Naruto can't afford to fall behind because he doesn't have the backing of a major clan or the monetary support that would allow civilian family students to keep pace."

"What is my assignment?" Kakashi sounded hesitant to the old Hokage.

"Your first assignment will be to see a counselor from the Yamanaka clan about any mental blocks and barriers that has been affecting your daily life and duty performance. I will be sending out what needs to be focused on in these sessions."

"But Lord Hokage!"

"Silence. I've allowed you to be held back by survivor's guilt and I can no longer allow that to happen. I need you to be there for the boy, and you are my only permanent solution to this conundrum. You have a connection with his heritage and you are in the village on a regular basis. Not to worry, though, as Jiraiya will also be facing down a couple of his demons by looking in and teaching the boy as well when he is in the village for his yearly reports. You will be solely responsible for his basics in the rudimentary skills and socialization so that he does not act out. I need him to be taken seriously when he enters the academy. I cannot entrust him to any of the clans without upsetting any political balance we have going within the village, and any of the civilian families would be unwilling to take him in."

"Understood, Lord Hokage. If I may?"

"Come in for your parameters in a week. You're dismissed." Kakashi disappeared in a body flicker as the words left the Hokage's mouth. "What am I to do with those three?" Hiruzen mused to himself as he sighed and took a deep drag off his pipe.

The time passed quickly for the Hokage as he awaited the arrival of his Elder Council. He had eaten a bento box and finished off his tea as he awaited the arrival of his old teammates and rival. He stood and opened the door to his office as the time for the meeting approached.

Danzo was the first to enter through the door a few minutes later. "Hiruzen."

"Danzo," Hiruzen nodded to the man and started to settle in to his chair as Danzo did the same on a small couch against the back wall, "we have the initial report from Inoichi. It will make things more interesting in the game of politics, but we should be able to get a rather good boon for ourselves."

Homura and Koharu were in the office soon after Hiruzen had spoke and exchanged greetings with the two previously present members of Konoha's Elder Council. "Now, to get down to business. The Head Jounin was sent with a two-fold mission that was luckily thwarted. He was to gather information on some of our defensive installations and guard rotations. The signing of the non-aggression treaty was secondary to him and A, most likely to be used as a cover for an invasion within the next few years if we showed any type of weakness in our scaling down from the full-scale warfare. Right now, we are the only two nations with active forces skirmishing along the borders of Yugakure, Shimogakure, and the Land of Rice Paddies. The order to try to kidnap Hinata Hyuga, or any main branch Hyuga really, was given by A; yet the problem there is that the memory shows the mission scroll was marked and a holdover from the Sandaime Raikage. I believe that, while he was fine with the mission being carried out, it was ultimately an appeasement gesture to the council holdovers so that A could firmly establish that it is his power that is ultimate in Kumogakure. It does not let him off the hook. I have already had the two chunin that accompanied our new guest apprehended and sent to the Fire Daimyo's court to be held hostage and traded back to the Lightning Daimyo for some of our own prisoners of war. That should slow down any information making it back to A in time to counter any _reasonable_ demands that we have."

"What were you thinking to send to them?" Koharu asked.

"I believe, foremost, that we demand that we be returned any prisoners taken over the last six months and once they are accounted for we will release half of the prisoners we have. The remaining half will remain here in Torture and Interrogation for another year to ensure the Raikage holds to the non-aggression treaty. Second, we will ask for the second son of the Daimyo to be sent in exchange for Head Jounin in six months' time. He will then reside under the close tutelage of Chiriku at the Fire Temple. Lastly, the non-aggression treaty will entail that we scale back by only fifteen percent in our production of war resources while they must decrease their production by thirty-five percent."

Danzo nodded his head and looked to Hiruzen. "How will we hold them to making sure that their production will be held to that lower level?"

"Danzo, as much as I might come to regret this decision, Root will have to be semi-disbanded as you will be spending time in the Lightning Daimyo's court for the foreseeable future if these terms are accepted. I plan to have the Fire Daimyo disguise your credentials as a retired general sent to keep an eye on his youngest daughter as she learns the culture of the Land of Lightning. I trust you have a Root operative that would be able to fill the role as the youngest daughter."

Danzo gritted his teeth slightly at having to tipping more of his hand then he was comfortable with to Hiruzen. "I do, Lord Hokage."

"Good, A should receive the missive in the next few days once we send it after this meeting. Koharu, I will also need you to send the trackers that are apart of your courtesan course after Lady Tsunade. I was thinking that a crash course in medical training and a dedicated medical ninja program would be good for our growing academy students. The ultimatum is she either returns willingly or she can refuse and Shizune will be required to return in her stead and her protection thoroughly disavowed regarding international threats and debt collectors."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

"Homura, I need you to do one thing with the artisans. Have our highest-grade forgery makers get productions of mercantile passes to the land of iron, our deep agents in the merchant's guilds around the nations to gather surpluses of chakra metals, and for the three main armorers for ANBU to start producing varied sets of chakra metal weapons once those surpluses start slipping into the village."

Homura bowed in his seat slightly. "Yes, Lord Hokage." Hiruzen and Danzo were smiling at the plans that were starting to formulate while Homura and Koharu were contemplating the return of the God of Shinobi to the forefront of Konoha's military complex. "Welcome back, Hiruzen, we have missed the plots and plans of our captain and commander that Lord Tobirama appointed." Homura said as he proceeded to stand and hurry from the office for the Cryptology departments sister-department, Cartography and Forgery.

Danzo stood and Koharu quickly bowed to Hiruzen before heading for her own destination in the red-light district, the Autumn Leaf Bough. Hiruzen looked to his long-time rival. "Hiruzen, what of your era of peace now?"

"My era of peace looks to be needing to be born from the miseries of war, and while I am ready the rest of the world is not. Till the world is ready, I must raise a 'king' to take control of the village and lead her into that era of peace."

"Well, who is the 'king' now that Minato has passed? None of the clan heads can put aside enough of their personal politics well enough to be accepted by more than half the remaining clans and the young generation now has no one responsible enough."

"You will see, my friend. My 'king' will be a formidable piece more in the line of Hashirama than I think any of us have been able to attain." Danzo looked at Hiruzen sharply as the man then spun on his heel and looked once again to the Hokage Mountain, a clear dismissal to the bandaged man. "Now, time for you to set your pieces in order, and remember that Kinoe will eventually be mine. He can clash with Kakashi all he wants under your orders, but the Will of Fire wins the mind just as much as the heart." The parting shot was enough to upset Danzo that he left without even an attempt at a respectful departing word.

 **~~~~Konoha Meeting Hall, One Week after Hyuga Incident~~~~**

The assembled clan heads stood before banners denoting the clan they belonged. A horseshoe-shaped table lay before them and varied administrative chunin bustled about the room as they set small pots of tea at each setting place for the various political stalwarts of the village. Hiruzen took his seat while the gathering bowed in his direction and using a closed fist against the front of their left shoulder to salute him. "Welcome, Lord Hokage, we are here to serve the Will of Fire," chorused out from those gathered.

"The Will of Fire illuminates us all." Hiruzen answered the per functionary greeting. "I have gathered all of you here to inform your clans of decisions that the Elder Council and myself have made in regard to preparing our village for the future regarding the incursions of our opponents." He motioned to the various men and women to sit and waited for his honor guard to head for the doors to guard from the outside, his only protection still present being Kakashi in regular jounin garb standing three feet behind him and to the right.

"We will be changing the academy curriculum. There will no longer be these times of focusing on basic educational classes for full days and only be running physical exercises three times a week to close out the day. Chunin instructors will be receiving the new curriculum advisories and materials within the week. Most of these changes are rather agreeable and, while one or two might be hard, they are necessary to the betterment of our village. These changes are going to be whole-scale. Basic education such as science, math, and history will only be taught in the mornings of their six years at the academy. Physical exercises, taijutsu, and basic weapon handling will be taught thoroughly in the afternoons for a student's first three years. D-ranks that are rudimentary within the village will no longer be the responsibility of genin but academy students. They will be accomplished based on class day rotation throughout the classes' afternoons for their final three years. The final three years, when not doing these D-ranks, will have afternoons that will be part jutsu training, part mock battles and simulations, tactical overview exercises, basic first aid, camp training, or specialization exercises. We will also see chakra testing that usually waits for their advancement to chunin being implemented at the beginning of the final year so that we may push them towards the right branches of elemental jutsu for them to better succeed." Hiruzen flipped one sheet of paper that had been in front of him over and set it aside while the clan heads started to look at one another in mild shock, not quite knowing exactly how the Hokage had decided these changes necessary.

Fugaku Uchiha looked at some of the looser allies that still associated with his clan, the Kurama Clan and Shimura Clan. His stern face was more relaxed today when he realized that this would play into his hands more than he had hoped. Changes like this would only help his second son become stronger and push his clan further ahead of any of their rivals. He smirked lightly before voicing some of the questions his fellow men and women were thinking. "Lord Hokage, why are these changes coming so close to the new academy year and how will we catch the current classes up to this curriculum?"

"The latter question is easiest to answer. The classes currently enrolled will be adopting the new schedule; but instead of personal specialization, they will receive accelerated team finding and team specialization training. The incoming class will be the first to get the full new curriculum." Hiruzen then looked across the table and nodded to Hiashi Hyuga. "The changes are coming due to an incident that occurred this past week. The Head Jounin of Kumogakure was here on non-aggression treaty talks with ulterior motives. Those motives were found out when he infiltrated the Hyuga clan compound and abducted the clan heiress, though he was aiming for any main-branch member. He was pursued by Hiashi and Hizashi through the back alleys of the northern district. The infiltrator then came across an ANBU patrol, Team Ro, that was escorting a young Naruto Uzumaki to his care facility. Operative Wolf entrusted Naruto to the remainder of his team and tactically approached the target. He got in front of the man while Hizashi and Hiashi got his attention from the front and disabled him with a catastrophic injury to his spinal cord. This allowed the Head Jounin to be apprehended and entrusted to Torture and Interrogation. Inoichi Yamanaka then conducted the interrogation through the night and into the day."

The clan heads started to talk quietly amongst themselves and Hiruzen called for silence once more. "The orders were originally made with the intention of giving A an insight into our defense strategies and constructs. The addendum of abducting a Hyuga member was a holdover order from the former A, Sandaime Raikage. This has allowed us to send and receive a missive from the current A to tell him our demands to continue the non-aggression treaty talks and his acquiescence to them with pressure from the Lightning Daimyo because of pressure exerted on our behalf from the Fire Daimyo. Talks will resume in Yugakure with representatives from our village, Kumogakure, and both Daimyos. The boons so far will allow us to quicken the pace of economic recovery for the village and have a hostage in the Head Jounin for the next year and the Lightning Daimyo's second son within striking distance at the Fire Temple for the foreseeable future."

Nara Shikaku raised his head from the lowered position he had adopted as soon as he sat down. "And what do we owe Kumogakure? A would not have taken this lying down."

"We only owe them the two chunin retainers that were sent along with the High Jounin that the Fire Daimyo has been holding for us and reparations for rebuilding of their coastal cities we obliterated through fire-ships to the tune of one twentieth the repair costs."

"That is rather agreeable. I'm guessing with pressure from the Daimyo that A could no longer refuse." Hiruzen nodded to Shikaku's assertion about the reparations.

"In the village, we will also be revamping some of the command infrastructure. Shikaku Nara will continue as the Jounin Commander of our forces and Fugaku Uchiha will continue as the Military Police Force commander. They will also be taking on new duties. Fugaku, you will be asked to start up a new unit incorporating Yamanaka and Inuzuka clan members along Uchiha clan members with the police force. This will open the scope and reach to deal with incidents from the academy onward when regarding our shinobi forces. Shikaku, you will be working alongside the Aburame clan to improve and expand our medical and weaponization knowledge regarding our rare local flora and fauna. Choza Akimichi, you alongside Hiashi Hyuga will combine the resources and talents of the Akimichi and Hyuga to reform our agricultural and regular building infrastructure and grounds. The Barrier Team will be marking more area outside the Southern and Western walls that will be included in an outside defense system for use in agriculture. In the village itself, we will go over the expansion of buildings and defense systems. These four: Shikaku, Hiashi, Choza, and Fugaku will be leading a Jounin Council that will deal with any disputes that arise from these expansions and our forces from chunin and above amongst themselves."

Hiruzen took a deep breath and flipped to his last page of notes. He took in the nods and murmured agreements from the clan heads. "Clan compounds will also be affected by our expansion and revitalizing defensive strategies and structures. The smaller clans will be brought alongside the larger clans and there will be no walls separating anyone. We are all a part of the village of Konohagakure and will not allow false suspicion and misplaced distrust to separate us further. This suspicion and separation by walls within the village just make us have to work harder to work together and accomplishes some of the enemy's goals for them."

The gathering paused in silence as the statement settled over them. Hiruzen smirked plainly for them all to see as he uttered what some of them had probably thought he had been missing since he re-ascended to the role of Hokage. After several seconds, a snort broke the silence as a wild-looking woman started to beat her fist against the table in front of her. "Ha! Hit the nail on the head with that one." She continued to laugh as the rest of the clan heads looked between her and the Hokage. "We can finally stop tiptoeing around the shitstorm that has been going since that night three years ago. We need to hash it out or our packs are just going to tear each other apart till even a stray dog could cow us."

"Agreed, Tsume, that this has gone on for too long. The Senju are not as prevalent as they were as a clan in the Warring States Period. The Uchiha have been looked at with mistrust since that night because they did not engage, but that was by design. Danzo gave the order to protect civilians as was their job as the Military Police Force. The Sarutobi and Shimura clans can only take us so far as our numbers are down because of the previous war just as the Kurama, Izumo, and Hatake clans are. We must entrust ourselves to each other to be the strong force that takes us through the next war. Our smaller clans will bolster and strengthen our large clans and incorporated as needed in the expansion. The Sarutobi and Shimura clans are continuing in gathering information of techniques and knowledge from around the nations. The Kurama clan will set aside special teachers for students that excel in genjutsu, so we can strengthen all skills. Holding to the Will of Fire has been the hallmark of the Hatake clan and I look forward to seeing how that can be instilled through tutoring those that need it most."

Hiruzen motioned over his shoulder for Kakashi to step forward at this point. The young man came to attention at his side in mere moments. "Kakashi Hatake will be the first to bring up that special tutoring. From this point till the academy, Kakashi will be responsible for the care of Naruto Uzumaki in his down time. Now, there is no discussion with this. Killer Bee has achieved full synchronization with the Eight-Tails and we can't afford for our own charge to be neglected, even unintentionally. He has received the parameters of what to expect with this assignment. Village furloughed upper chunin and jounin will also be aiding the academy students' missions and mock battles as team leaders and advisors, so we can come to find the best team dynamics and the teachers that can be assigned to those teams. I plan to have our genin graduation and direct implementation to be raised from the current sixty percent active-twenty percent administrative-twenty percent reserve ratio to ninety percent active-ten percent administrative reservists in the next few years."

The assembly looked amongst each other before Shibi Aburame spoke up, his quiet voice echoing in the pause. "I can see the logic to this, Lord Hokage, but how will we balance pay for these stints as instructors while they are furloughed."

"The rates for B-rank and up missions to increase so furlough instructors will receive an on-going D-rank pay for each time they are home and teaching. Discounts will no longer be offered to new clientele and only the feudal lords will receive ongoing discounts. That is all for today. Start meeting amongst yourselves about the expansion plans and coming up with suggestions for teachers amongst clan members so that we can begin at the start of the academy year. Thank you for your presence and involvement today."

 **~~~~Hokage Office, Later that evening~~~~**

Hiruzen looked at Kakashi as the man shuffled about the office. "Kakashi, you are aware of the special circumstances to your protection detail?"

"I am, Lord Hokage. He cannot know of his heritage and status for his own protection, but I still don't think I am a good choice or that this is a particularly good course of action."

"Kakashi, I already said I cannot give him over to any of the clans and the civilian side of the village won't touch the situation because of the information leak, orchestrated by begrudged veterans, spreading the exact circumstances behind his situation. If he keeps down the path he's on, he will slowly but surely start acting out for any attention whatsoever. If we look at the logic of that, he will start escalating. That escalation will spread to village-wide incidents. Those incidents will lead to him being brought before me and I can't risk ostracizing him by punishing him beyond a small slap on the wrist. Now, that information would start getting attention from information gatherers sent to Konohagakure by places like Iwagakure and Kumogakure. They would send word to old codger leaders and recently offended leaders about how a young child is running circles around village security and where those holes in security are. The boy isn't being punished appropriately and was orphaned in the Kyubi Incident. The puzzle pieces would quickly come together for someone Onoki, especially when he got a physical description of Naruto. He is not so frail or indecisive as some would like to believe. A is prone to anger and once the pieces fell for him, he would strike out of spite."

"I understand, Lord Hokage. Any other directives for my assignment?"

"Jiraiya will meet with you and the boy when he is in the village for his yearly reports. I want the two of you to just help guide him until he is in the academy. Once the academy starts, officially you will be done as he will be integrating into normal activities; but you will help with tutor as I can afford for you to in secret. That is something that will need to be impressed upon Naruto: that he cannot show his full strength at any time in the academy. Jiraiya will also be teaching him more frequently over his last three years once his ideal team situations start to show."

"I will carry out your wishes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi body flickered away out of the office as Hiruzen dismissed him.

The Hokage stood in the window of his office as the lanterns to light the streets for those in the late dusk and early night flickered into being. He was slowly taking draws off his pipe as the shadows grew long. His back was straight as the ceremonial robe waved slightly in the light evening breeze being allowed in from a side window. He continued to look at the visages of his predecessors and successor. Ideas and improvements were soaring through his mind as quickly as he could comprehend and note or dismiss them. "The first hammer beats on the new weapon of Konohagakure have fallen. I can only hope and trust the process to further craft that weapon into something that while both sharp and precise can be placed back in its scabbard without burning away the world around it."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you for those that have started back up reading or finding this for the first time, if anyone has some experience, please volunteer to be the Beta for this fanfic. I think that would help keep me on track even with busy times that I have been going through since trying to sale a house, moving, getting laid off right after buying a new house, and working like crazy to keep ahead of bills since I have a little one on the way. Try to check out the Fandom Flux Podcast, it is really entertaining; and I have been extremely grateful for the inspiration it encourages.

 **~~~~Konoha, Two months after Hyuga Incident~~~~**

Naruto sat on a swing in a small park that was tucked into northern districts he usually ran around. He was staring at the young man in front of him with no regard to the rudeness that could be interpreted from it. He didn't know what to think of the man that had most of his face covered and silver hair standing up only to fall back limply. "So, the Hokage wants me to get help from you?"

"Yes. Why don't we head over to the little clear spot over here and you can ask me anything you want to learn." Kakashi moved away from the swing set to a cleared lawn just a few yards away. "Sit down here and we will go over some of the beginning stuff too."

Naruto's natural energy had him excited, yet his experiences with most older people still left a small niggling doubt about the genuine offer of help. "What do I need to do to be a ninja?"

"You need to study hard, exercise, and apply yourself. Do you know how to read and write yet?" Naruto shook his head in the negative and Kakashi held in a groan. "Ok, first we will need to teach you how to read and write." Kakashi patted down his pockets before drawing out a pencil and some loose sheets of paper. "I'll start by writing out the alphabet and we'll go over how to say them and what they look like. After we do that for awhile we can do some stretches and run around the playground. That sound ok to you?"

"That sounds great!" Naruto settled in front of Kakashi as the lesson started.

 **~~~~Hokage Tower, Simultaneously~~~~**

Hiruzen sat at his desk perusing paperwork and reports that were just delivered by his administrative chunin assistant. "Tsunade, you can glare all you want. I will not apologize for the circumstances of bringing you back. If anything, this wake-up call was long overdue."

A blonde woman sat across from him with a deep scowl on her face. She shrugged the green jacket with 'gamble' written in bold across the back off her shoulders onto the back of her chair. Her normal apparel of a gray, sleeveless hakama and blue paints were slightly ruffled and looked like she had slept in them to Hiruzen. She ground her teeth before speaking. "I don't want to be here, old man. This is your village and your duty. I don't have a responsibility for this place anymore."

"On the contrary, Slug Princess, you do have a responsibility that I allowed you to neglect for far too long. You are an active jounin of the village of Konohagakure and have spread shame throughout the nations for us for several years now. You were the one that was supposed to be here for when your third cousin when she was giving birth, but you fled. You were supposed to be here to protect and care for those that couldn't, but you fled. You were supposed to be here to help a small boy be protected from being used as a political piece when he was mere hours old, but you fled."

"I didn't flee any of those responsibilities! They weren't mine in the first place!" Tsunade was standing now with fists clenched and looked like she was ready to break the desk that was resting between the two. "I lost everything to this village, why would I stay?"

"You lost everything?" Hiruzen's expression slowly morphed from his natural neutral face to one of an exasperated parent dealing with a screaming toddler. "I can name three cases of someone that lost just as much, if not more, off the top of my head."

"Kakashi Hatake lost his mother in childbirth due to complications from chakra poisoning administered by a Sunagakure ninja that was trying to kill his father. His father was taken from him at four years old when he returned from putting his team above the mission and committed suicide because they turned their backs on him. His next rival, and dare I say best friend at the time, was killed by Iwagakure ninja in front of him on the battlefield. His last remaining teammate was taken from him during the war by Kirigakure ninja who had unstably sealed the six-tails into her and sent her back towards Konohagakure to act as a time-bomb. He was forced to administer the killing blow himself. His new father and mother figures were finally killed during the Kyubi attack. This is a young man who truly had everything taken from him, but do you know the difference between you and him? He was strong enough to pick up the mantle of his lost loved ones' ideals and threw himself into the protection of his village! You. Ran. Away."

Hiruzen then took a deep breath as he schooled his features once more. "Tsunade, you are my student and I believe it is time for you to accept that you are as much a part of this village as I am, whether you like it or not. Your grandfather would be so disappointed that his dream of a village brought together and protected by the Senju concept of a Will of Fire was so readily abandoned by his own flesh and blood. I can no longer let you wallow in self-despair because you that's what you want out of life. I need you in the village and training new medical ninja so that the chances of heavy losses are reduced. Or would you rather leave again, and I classify you as a missing ninja of the same caliber as Orochimaru. You walk away from this village again you will be no better than him, responsible for the death of an untold number."

Tsunade was quite close to throwing her fist through the desk at this point. "That crosses the line, and you know it does." She made to turn but stopped herself. "How would Biwako react to you using tactics like this?" She stormed for the office door but was pulled up short by a sharp retort from the Hokage.

"Tsunade! I'm done with childish antics from you!" He was standing at his desk and fuming. "I have given up my share for this village. We all accepted the chances of what we would lose when we accepted our headbands. You are going to mold the next generation, and I will not be party to you spreading insubordination and hate amongst them. Shizune will take your place at the academy till you can see the way past your own problems. The best part is that you are under a privilege restriction that went in affect the second you walked into this office. No more alcohol will be sold to you and gambling dens will not accept your business for fear of them losing all licenses to operate within the borders of Konohagakure."

Tsunade worked her mouth as she tried to come up with the proper response to the bombshell that had just been dropped on her. She marched back to the chair she had occupied to grab her jacket from its resting place. Her face was flushed in anger and a scowl adorned her features. The garment practically cracked like a whip as she put it back into place on her shoulders. The steps to the door were echoing. The door finally slammed closed behind the angry member of the Legendary Three.

Hiruzen looked at the door for several minutes after the woman he viewed as a daughter left his office. His face was drawn into a tight look as he started to try to get control of his breathing. His pipe lay on the top of his desk, the stem broken in two. He raised a trembling hand and rubbed his face slowly as he tried to calm himself before the retainer for the Fire Daimyo was due to enter his office. "Damned brats and their damned egos are going to be the death of me."

 **~~~~~Konoha, Three Months after Hyuga Incident~~~~**

The Senju compound loomed large in the southeastern district of Konoha. Many of the front acreage had gone through conversion into regular storefronts and civilian family housing. The wars that struck Konoha since its inception had decreased the number of Senju compared to the swelling numbers of Uchiha members. Tsunade looked out at her passing clansmen from the covered walkway that bordered the home of her grandfather.

The air was getting crisp as the summer's heat was unwilling to settle in for the night. Shadows were starting to grow. She finally stood from her seated position, green chakra fading from her hand as she moved it away from where her liver was. Color was starting to come back, though a slight yellowing around her fingernails, neck, and face persisted with her paler complexion. Bags had formed under her eyes and her blonde hair was disheveled. Her gait was unsteady, but she refused to give up on moving into the house.

"Shizune, where are you?"

A young woman with short black hair poked her head out of one of the rooms in front of Tsunade. "I'm here, Lady Tsunade. What do you need?"

"Some damn sake would be nice right about now." Tsunade grit her teeth as green chakra flared up in her hand again and she ran it over her midsection. "These damn alcohol withdrawals are playing havoc on me."

"I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade, but I agree with the Hokage's decision to bar you from alcohol."

"Damn brat." Tsunade said under her breath. "Fine." She said aloud as she continued her halting gait to where Shizune was standing. "What is the class looking like?"

"The few students I have are progressing. They would do better with someone like you leading them, though." Shizune ducked her head as she said this. Her shy disposition, even with Tsunade her pseudo-aunt and closest companion was, kept her from commenting further upon the subject of Tsunade's bad mood. "You could just come in and start trying to pass on some of the knowledge on to these students, mistress. They really could benefit from your expertise, and the knowledge available here in Konohagakure is so much vaster then when we left. You could easily make even more momentous breakthroughs with the beginning of the research being funneled to the medical branches from the Nara and Aburame clans."

"I'm not going to cave so easily to that old monkey I call teacher. He can't just force me to do what he wants anymore." Tsunade clenched one fist as she finished pumping medical chakra into herself with the other. "It's ridiculous that he expects me to just go along with something just because he wants to listen to what I had to say fifteen years too late to make a difference."

"Maybe so, but wouldn't it be better to make a difference now than to wallow in the what ifs that we can't change." Shizune said as she shook her head and moved back into the residence. Tsunade stood stunned in the doorway as she watched her disciple move further away.

 **~~~~Konoha, One Year after Hyuga Incident~~~~**

Naruto stood facing a post wrapped in padding. He struck forward with his fists in a pattern that he had memorized months earlier from Kakashi. The routine was basic but entertaining for the young boy. He finished with a right uppercut into the padding before stepping back. He wiped the sweat from his brow and took several deep breaths as he stretched out his arms and shoulders.

The afternoon sun was hanging low over the horizon. He looked towards the mountain monument and grinned. He took off in a jog towards his target goal for the exercise goals Kakashi had laid out for him when they started his routine the month before. He smiled as he continued to trace the trail he was starting to memorize. _'Kakashi should be home from his mission tomorrow. I wonder what we'll do this time. Hopefully, I learn a cool, bad-ass technique! He can't hold out on me forever.'_

His ANBU watcher was trailing him in the treetops. Purple Hair spilled out from behind her mask as she leapt from branch to branch. Her eyes took in the trail ahead and then refocused on the young boy that was her charge when the captain that usually had this detail was out on a mission. She was glad to see that the young boy was starting to improve in both his book studies and his physical exercise. The Hokage had given her a talking to about what was expected, and she was happy to keep an eye out for threats to the boy as the overheard conversations of the 'king' of the village had painted the picture that she was sure would make the Hokage happy.

 **~~~~Konoha, Two Years after Hyuga Incident~~~~**

Kakashi stood in the Hokage's office alongside a large, bear-like man with a long white mane of hair. The man looked sideways at Kakashi for a second and the two red lines running from his eyes to his jawline were visible in that look. He smiled and hooked his right thumb underneath a forearm guard that was on his arms and shifted it lightly. The air in the office made it seem like they were being called to the carpet before the Hokage and neither man knew what to say or do.

The Hokage walked into his office after having left the two men standing before his desk without saying anything, purely for his own amusement. Hiruzen shut the door solidly and smirked to himself as both men's shoulders tensed and their backs went ramrod straight. "Hmph." Hiruzen cleared his throat as he came to sit in his desk. "Gentlemen, I hope I don't have to remind you of the importance of this meeting."

Both Kakashi and the other man looked at each other mechanically. Neither new how to respond to the statement made by the Hokage. Kakashi worked his shoulders and motioned to the man standing there. "Why don't you lead us off, Lord Jiraiya. I'm sure what you have to say is exponentially more important to the safety of the village."

Hiruzen had to hold back a chuckle at the look of pure disbelief on Jiraiya's face and the expert maneuvering of Kakashi to put Jiraiya into the line of fire. _'Good political move, my boy, I'll have to keep my eye on you even more now.'_ "Yes, Jiraiya, why don't you lead us off for this meeting. I would like to hear your opinion on the monumental decision that we need to make. I would hate not to take my most loyal student's advice into consideration. Don't worry, Kakashi, I would hate to miss out on the observations of the sole-surviving student of the Yondaime Hokage and current ANBU captain." He smiled behind his steepled hands at the minute muscles contracting around the visible eye of Kakashi at the assertion that he was still in the muck and mire he had thrown Jiraiya. _'This is just as entertaining as it was when I used to do this to the Legendary Three.'_

"Well, I would like to say that my research is going tremendously well now that I'm back in Konohagakure." Jiraiya's face fell once more as the expression on Hiruzen's face stayed flat and stoic. "Fine, I have no idea. Why'd you call us, old monkey. I know you have something up your sleeve, so just spill it."

The old Hokage just shook his head and let out a breath at his student's choice of words. "Naruto is to start the academy in the next few weeks. It is time that we start giving him a hands-on approach to learning. Kakashi, you have done an exemplary job in getting his reading and writing up to an acceptable level for a student of his age. He has also taken to the light physical training rather well and his taijutsu looks to be on par with most of his peers that will be coming from clan backgrounds. Jiraiya, it is time for you to meet the boy with Kakashi. I want to know your advice on what Naruto could stand to work on."

Kakashi nodded to the Hokage's statement. "Thank you, Lord Hokage. If I may ask, are we to start any type of ninjutsu training with him?"

Hiruzen steepled his fingers in front of him. "I would like to say yes, as would Danzo. The problem there is that we don't know what his reserves will look like when he unlocks his chakra to start trying to take on even the most basic of ninjutsu. His mother and Mito were at different stages of growth when they had the Kyubi sealed into them, so we can't use them as a good example to measure him against. I believe it would be best if we got him to unlock his chakra and ingrain the hand seals into him first, but I'll leave the exact details to the two of you for when you test him."

"I also need the reports from the two of you concerning what our information networks have been able to gather on Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure. The plans for the future hinge on being ready for any considerable action that they take. The non-aggression treaty can realistically only hold them back from acting out of aggression for so long. Kakashi, the ANBU network has been keeping a close eye on Kumogakure for the past couple of years. Jiraiya, your network is still holding strong during the upheaval in Kirigakure and staying as close as possible to Iwagakure. Danzo is due to return within the year when he's officially recalled by the Fire Daimyo and that should give us a better glimpse into the relations of the Daimyos in the north and how they've been interacting with the hidden villages there. What can you two tell me."

Kakashi raised his hand to forestall Jiraiya. "ANBU has been keeping an eye on Kumogakure and gathering the reports from Jiraiya's network in the bordering Land of Snow and Land of Hot Water. We have also been getting the reports for the southernmost parts of the Land of Lightning while most of those reports have also been delivered to Danzo. From what I've been able to put together, the Land of Snow is still semi-hostile to any Konohagakure presence within their borders. That has been the case since Doto Kazahana took over three years ago and I was barely able to flee with the princess, Yukie Kazahana. The Kumogakure shinobi pass through unhurried and the cooperation between the two nations seems to be high. I think A has been funneling monetary support to the village of Yukigakure to help keep them in line as a satellite nation between ourselves and Iwagakure, though no concrete evidence of this relationship has been found."

"The Land of Hot Water, on the other hand, seems to be friendlier. They did suffer a massacre in one of the central villages just outside the borders of the now mostly-defunct Yugakure. The act was perpetrated by a now missing-ninja that has disappeared off the radar since the attack occurred. The plus side with us is that their tourist economy has spiked, and that can be traced to an increase in nobility traffic that occurred after the treaty talks held there. The Daimyo of Hot Water has also been requesting more business from us within the last year as his hidden village has deescalated to compensate for his lack of standing military forces."

"Good. That should endear us to them rather well. I want you to pass along the message to the ANBU commander that we should look to train up a platoon of chunin and jounin ANBU recruits to be stationed in our border outpost nearest the capital of Hot Water. The quick response time to requests from him with competent ninja should continue our bolstering good will so they are more likely to side with us during any coming conflicts." Hiruzen said as he turned his head to look fully at Jiraiya and motioned for him to speak.

"I'll start with the situations in Iwagakure. The number of Iwagakure ninja hopefuls being graduated and placed into teams has spiked. Onoki seems to be trying to bolster his ranks back to something approaching pre-war statistics. With Minato and the previous A wiping out so many, he's hard pressed to keep morale high without the numbers swelling. Their weapon production still carries on, but there are whispers of shortages in things like dressings, food ration pills, and sealing supplies. The best I can guess from this is that Onoki is steadily building strength without setting out to move any time soon. I think the worry of not having a clear successor is the main thing that's keeping him from trying to solidify border rotations and war-bands that Iwagakure is known. It looks like there will still be a few years at the least before he's ready to move. Roshi is still within the outskirts of Iwagakure, acting as the ever-loyal guardian. Han though hasn't been seen within the village for the last six months, though that isn't too strange for the man."

"Kirigakure is in complete upheaval. The Bloody Mist that the previous Mizukage started has turned resentments in the village to an all-time high now that Yagura has amplified the practice. There is rumors of a civil war starting to be waged amongst clans with Kekkai Genkai and those without. Yagura hasn't done a thing to dispel these rumors and I believe a full fight between them all will be breaking out soon. The Seven Shinobi Swordsmen are even drawing up battle lines amongst each other. I will have to keep an eye out for any groups of new missing-ninja that start to evacuate to avoid the bloodshed. In my expertise, we are only a month or two away from the start of country-wide conflict in the Land of Water. Mangetsu Hozuki, Ameyuri Ringo, Fuguki Suikazan, and Zabuza Momochi appear to be angered by the way that Yagura is running the village down. Jinin Akebino, Kushimaru Kuriarare, and Jinpachi Munashi along with several of the subordinate members appear to be stoking the flames of conflict. Jinpachi has even resorted to killing his elder brother when he discovered him with other malcontents to the Mizukage. The split hasn't fully developed within their ranks as they still take team missions, but I don't know how long that can last. I would suggest getting a mission close to the outlying islands to see the response from Kirigakure and the ability of the response team to work together."

"I'll take that into consideration. What do we know about the subordinate members and the blades they wield?"

"Well, that is harder to pin down fully. I know of Fuguki's subordinate the most, Kisame Hoshigaki. He doesn't wield a special blade yet, it's just a nodachi that measures about five feet in blade length. The only other two subordinates I have been able to dig up information on are Juzo Biwa and Raiga Kurosuki. They have wielded the Kubikiribocho and the Kiba blades when Ameyuri and Zabuza were dealing with more clandestine operations but appear to wield semi-special blades when their masters are in possession of the famous blades. Juzo wields a zanbato that has been reinforced with seals to stabilize its weight and durability. Raiga has been seen wielding two chakra conducting katana with seals to store elemental chakra within them. The other subordinates have largely stayed out of the eye of my network though I can say Mangetsu does not appear to have one at this time because he just ascended to his position within the last year."

Hiruzen sat back in his chair and stroked his goatee as he thought over the information that Jiraiya had presented him. Foreboding thoughts were troubling him as he thought over repercussions of a civil war breaking out amongst one of the great five villages. His own worries about a rebellion within Konohagakure had subsided slightly, but even with the goodwill he had been building up some of the clans were unhappy with their stations. "Keep an eye on the situation with Kirigakure. I don't want a rebellion elsewhere giving any unhappy parties around us the idea that revolution might be the right course of action."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Jiraiya said as he nodded to the command.

"Now, the two of you are dismissed. Jiraiya please accompany Kakashi to the area that young Naruto has taken up as his impromptu training ground, so we can make some progress on that front." Both men bowed to the Hokage before heading out from his office. Hiruzen lit his pipe and started to take several long drags as he took out a scroll and pen from his desk. "Operative Cat, please fetch Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado for me. When you return, please run the message I'm writing to the courier ninja office and have it marked as urgent for the eyes of Danzo Shimura only." A small displacement of air ruffled some of the loose paperwork on Hiruzen's desk as the ANBU member went about their task.

 **~~~~Konoha, That Afternoon~~~~**

Jiraiya and Kakashi stood in front of Naruto after having interrupted his taijutsu practice routine. He looked back and forth between the two men before shrugging his shoulders and placed his hands into the ram hand seal that Kakashi had shown him just before they had made the request that was currently confusing him. He screwed up his eyes in concentration and tried to look within himself as his caretaker had put it. He could feel something in his core, but he wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to do to bring that up like he had been instructed. After a few minutes of trying and sweat starting to bead up on his forehead, Naruto let out a large breath and dropped his hands from the hand seal.

"Ok, Naruto, that was a good first try. You need to try to focus completely on that sense of something within yourself and pull on it. Drag it up to the surface of your being. Like if you were taking one of your toys out of the storage chest that sits at the end of your bed." Kakashi instructed the young boy using the easiest descriptors he could think of to try to convey what he wanted Naruto to do.

Naruto nodded and put his hands back in the hand seal. He struggled to focus again and had to clinch his eyes and teeth to keep himself from getting distracted by any of the other things in the park where he liked to practice. He felt around within himself again for that something in his core that he had been able to feel before. With the higher focus this time around, he was able to track the feeling to what felt like a ball of energy within himself. The only problem now was that he felt a second ball of energy laying just behind and beneath the first ball.

The first felt like a ball that was moving slightly on its own, drifting a little one way and then another almost like it was floating like a bright light. The second felt like it was a burning ember that stayed glued in place growing hotter and colder depending on how closely he focused on it. In a rash decision, he tried to grab on in a sense to the first ball and it started to come apart in his grasp. He then tried to grip on to the second ball of energy, but it only seemed to grow in intensity till it almost felt like he was burning himself to try to touch it. He then went back to the first ball and tried to grasp at it once more. This time he could feel a little bit of the ball stay within his grasp though his efforts to pull on it remained fruitless. He took a deep breath as he started to feel the sweat on his brow bead up again. He pushed at the first source of energy and startled himself out of his concentrating position when it seemed to bounce briefly to the surface and then regather itself when he stopped pushing.

"Kakashi, he's almost got it. What seems to be the problem, Naruto?"

"I don't know. It feels like I have two balls of energy, but neither of them really seems to react to me pulling on them. The first one just kind of feels like it falls apart when I try to grab on to it, but it did feel like it started to bounce upwards when I pushed on it. The second is just sitting there beneath the first, but it feels like it's burning me when I try to grab at it." Both men shared a look with each other as Naruto looked at his feet while he was explaining what he felt.

"Naruto let's just focus on that first one for now. You don't need to worry about that second ball of energy any time soon. Why don't you just forget about it for right now. That first ball of energy is all you need to worry about." Jiraiya said as he tried to tap down on the worry he was feeling about Naruto inadvertently encountering the small pool of Kyubi's chakra that seemed to be storing up within him. "That first ball reacted when you pushed on it? Then try gently, but steadily pushing on it till it stays at the surface."

Naruto nodded to the large figure of Jiraiya. He placed his hands in the seal one more time before closing his eyes. The ball of energy was much easier to find now that he had a good feeling for it. He imagined pushing at it lightly. The ball felt like it went up slightly but started to go back to his core when he got excited. He took a breath to steady himself and started to push more evenly against that ball of energy. The feeling of the energy rising stayed constant this time till he got to what felt like the surface. The energy wavered slightly but Naruto continued to push against it till it felt like it finally broke apart on the surface and spread throughout his body. He opened his eyes once this happened to see a smiling Jiraiya and Kakashi with his eye shut and nodding at him. "Did I do it right?"

"Yes, Naruto, you did it just perfect. You unlocked your chakra. Can you feel it all over now?"

Naruto took a second to feel out the sensation of his energy. It did feel like it had spread all throughout his body, but there still seemed to be a slightly smaller ball than before sitting in the core from where he had pushed it. "Yeah, I feel it. It still feels like there's a ball of it where it was sitting before though."

Jiraiya clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder and chuckled. "That's just fine, my boy. That is where your chakra will pool up as your body makes more of it. Feeling how full or empty your core is will tell you how much chakra you have left. Also, the more you train and the more you study, you'll feel that pool grow and expand too. That's good and now we can start to teach you all the other hand seals that you will need so you can start to learn the basics of jutsu. The ram seal is just the most basic of the hand seals and allows you to focus your chakra the easiest. You'll use it for focusing a lot of your future techniques and for when you do chakra control exercises later in the academy." Kakashi and Jiraiya then started to take turns showing and then guiding Naruto through the different seals that ninja used commonly for their techniques as the afternoon continued towards evening.

 **~~~~Uchiha Training Grounds, Same Afternoon~~~~**

Fugaku Uchiha sat in the shade as he watched two young boys spar between themselves. The older of the two had distinct cheekbones that served as troughs for tears. The younger of the two had the back of his hair styled up in a multi-point spike while the front and sides hung down rather limply. Punches were exchanged and the younger of the two boys jumped at the older. Both boys had a lot of the same features, though the older one's appearance seemed to be a contrast in very sharp to more rounded. The flying kick of the younger was pushed aside as the older boy caught him by his ankle and looped his other arm around the boy's torso. He rotated and slammed, as gently as possible, the younger boy onto the ground and held him there. "Sasuke, you need to not rush in without having a way out of your attack. Enemy ninja will not go so easy on you as I am."

"Yes, Itachi." Sasuke said as he rubbed his neck as Itachi let him up. He looked down towards his feet and scuffed one foot against the hard-packed dirt. His face was face sullen and he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that he was so far behind Itachi. Unbidden, his head was raised, and he felt Itachi poking his forehead with a smile on his face.

"Don't look so down, little brother. You'll catch up to me before you know it. You will be able to start soaring ahead once the academy classes start up soon." Itachi smiled as he poked his brother's forehead again. He then stood from where he was bent over before looking over towards their father. Fugaku still sat on the cushion underneath the tree. The man's face was set in an emotionless mask and Itachi sighed as another opportunity for his father to connect to his youngest son passed. Itachi then took Sasuke's hand and started to head for their home where their mother was waiting.

Fugaku continued to sit in the empty field. Another Uchiha clansmen entered his field of vision after the sound of his sons leaving faded. "Lord Fugaku, I come bearing news."

"What is it, Tekka?"

"Yakumi and I were able to cover a lot of ground in getting how the clan feels." Tekka moved to kneel close to Fugaku and lowered his voice so that he could not be easily overheard. "The numbers are split pretty evenly. Some of the clan has been receptive to the changes Hiruzen made, but there are still those of us that want you to lead us out into a world where we are in charge. The preparations for the Naka shrine to be converted into a covert meeting place have begun like you asked."

"Good work, Tekka. Start gathering the necessary funds, armaments, and a list of names of our supporters. Keep me posted on the progress." Fugaku motioned for Tekka to leave his presence. The man stood again and turned quickly and strode from the training grounds. Unknown to the two, Itachi sat in the upper boughs of a neighboring tree. He grimaced as he heard the details that Fugaku had said. His loyalty to the village and the loyalty to the village warred within him. He nervously picked at the bottom hem of his new jounin flak jacket and worried his lip before disappearing into a body flicker.

 **~~~~Hokage's Office, Evening~~~~**

Hiruzen sat at his desk, paperwork slowly being processed in the light of candles placed about the office. The night was fully settling and pushing the evening out. Hiruzen looked at the remaining stack of paperwork and moved aside his notes from the meetings with Jiraiya, Kakashi, Koharu, and Homura. Standing, the Hokage stretched his aching back and then worked his hands to rid himself of the persistent pain of arthritis that was starting to work its way into his joints. He spared a thought for the futility of trying to combat age and time, but he couldn't quite bring himself to resent the bundles of responsibility that he had continued to shoulder throughout his life and supposed retirement.

A knock sounded from his door. He looked to the door as he took his seat once again. "Enter." He steepled his hands in front of his face and waited patiently for his caller to enter the office. His hands covered the look of surprise on his face as he saw Fugaku Uchiha enter his office. Fugaku bowed deeply to the Hokage with his fists at his side. "Lord Hokage, forgive the intrusion as the hour draws late"

"What brings you here, Wicked Eye Fugaku?" Hiruzen addressed him with the moniker that Kumogakure had bequeathed to him on the eastern battlefields. He watched the man as he straightened and caught the measuring glance that picked out the locations of two of his personal bodyguards. He motioned for them to leave, and all but the captain of Team Ro disappeared from his office in a matter of a second. Kakashi still resided just above Hiruzen in the cover of a seal-based illusion instead of a cast genjutsu.

"Thank you for dismissing them, Lord Hokage. I come with troubling news for myself and my clan. None of my immediate family should know, but there have been complaints and arguments amongst the Uchiha. Back alley meetings and sake-fueled debates have become the normal occurrence amongst the very center of the clan grounds where they won't be overheard by the new residents. I do not have a comprehensible way of balancing this. The clan talks about civil war even amongst factions of ourselves."

Hiruzen took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I wish I could say I was surprised. Unfortunately, with the segregation after the Kyubi Incident and inflaming rhetoric of some outspoken public figures, I had a feeling that this was coming. What do you want me to do about your mess, Fugaku?"

"Nothing right now, Lord Hokage. I have been trying to get to the bottom of the situation, but I have had to appear to support one of the unhappy factions in the process. I have identified three factions within the clan itself. Those that want to follow the last words of Izuna in not trusting anything to do with the Senju clan and are advocating for support amongst the clan to either take over or leave the village outright. They're the smallest faction but seem to be led by Yashiro. There is a faction that is following words and creeds set down by Madara, and they believe we need to wipe out the Senju and take over the village. I have infiltrated this faction and have set the plans in motion so that we will have an area where more of the like-minded will gather. I was recruited to the faction by Tekka and Yakumi. Then there is the faction of Kagami supporters that believe the village is the most important thing and our clan is performing the most vital of missions by keeping it safe through the Military Police Force. I haven't found a true figurehead amongst them, but the whispers that have reached me are pointing to the few ninja and many civilian clan members are putting forward Kagami's grandson, Shisui, and my own son, Itachi, forward as the examples for us to be following."

"That is troubling, Fugaku, and I'm not sure how I can bring myself to trust all of this information. I've had rumblings from some unhappy ninja reach this office as well as reports from other ninjas who don't like these rumblings report what has been overheard. What can you give me, here and now, to assure me of your loyalty to this village?"

Fugaku took a breath to get a second to gather his thoughts as he stood in front of the God of Shinobi within Konohagakure. "Lord Hokage, the best I can offer is that I will be stepping down as the clan head once this incident is resolved. I will be placing Itachi as the head with Shisui acting as his right hand and counselor. I'll be willing to submit myself for whatever punishment you find acceptable. All I ask is that you take care of the remainder of my clan that makes it out of this and is loyal to the village of Konohagakure." He bowed his head with hands clasped in front of himself as he finished his statement to the Hokage and waited for the response.

Hiruzen stood from his seat and paced behind his desk as he considered all the information that had been laid out before him. He had trails of smoke going out from his nostrils as he gnawed on the stem of his pipe. "I'll accept this for now, but you must continue with reports about the activities of your clan. I will also want any information about how the factions are gathering supplies and information networks that they have in their possession."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Fugaku bowed and turned to leave from the office. "I am truly sorry for the trouble my clan has caused, Lord Hokage. You were gracious enough to give us a second chance when even the Elder Council was calling for our exile or culling. I wish there was a better way to repay your attempts at keeping the piece. I only fear that a great many of our ninja may be dead or jailed in the near future." He then continued out of the office, leaving the Hokage with his thoughts over the new hurdles that have cropped up in preparing his village for the conflict that might hopefully lead to peace when it was over.

 **~~~~Konohagakure Academy, Start of Classes~~~~**

"Now, Naruto, don't be afraid to show some of what you know, but always remember the number one rule of being a ninja."

"I remember, Kakashi. A true ninja never reveals all their strength. It's going to be so hard though. You've shown me so much bad ass stuff!"

Kakashi placed his hand on the young boy's head and ruffled his wild blond hair. "It'll be easier the more you do it. You can win more fights and become even cooler if you always have a trick up your sleeve that no one else is prepared to face." He then lightly pushed on the back of his white tee shirt and toward the steps of the academy building. "Now, go show them who's boss."

"Yes, sir!" Naruto ran for the front of the school building and quickly entered. He stopped just inside the doors, though, and looked back towards the entrance to the school grounds. A wide smile lit up his face as he scrunched his eyes up as he waved for all his little body was worth. Kakashi waved back at the boy for a second before turning and heading down the trail that circumnavigated the populace areas and continued towards the training grounds.

As he got further from the academy, Kakashi picked up on the light sound of laughing that was following him. He stopped his stride from carrying him any further down the empty trail and waited. "You can come out now." Three figures in ANBU cowls and masks appeared around him while one was holding their stomach as laughs continued out, muffled by the mask. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I didn't realize that this was the time to stock your commanding officer on his off day."

"We couldn't help it, captain. The little guy is entering his own path of the ninja. Just didn't know that you could be so sappy. Stopping to get him a special breakfast, giving him a pep talk right before he started class, and _holding_ his hand the entire way from the orphanage to the academy. I mean this alone would be enough to sell to some of the popular kunoichi gossip rags for quite a fortune. The headline could even read: Konohagakure's Aloof Bachelor Kakashi Hatake Unlocked- soft spots for long walks, special meal occasions, and children. I mean, I could…" The laughing ANBU was solidly slugged on his shoulder by another of the ANBU, this one of a more feminine stature and build.

"Thank you, Operative Hare. Don't worry, Operative Goat, I didn't know you were that desperate for my attention to try to collect my personal preferences and wanted to hold my hand so much. I'm sure I could have some special training situations set up where I'll most likely have to hold your hand through them. The rookie, Operative Badger, would probably be more than eager to contribute some high intensity flame chakra to the exercises as long as it helps his senior operative hone his edge that much more." Kakashi spoke in a smug tone as he drove his point home through the ribbing that was common amongst the elites serving in the ANBU to help alleviate stress.

"Yes, Captain, I would be more than willing to help however you see fit. I would think that it would be important for the good of the squad to increase the skill level of its individual parts." The smallest figure said in a voice that was starting to crack. "I happen to know that the Uchiha possess some special Military Police Force training grounds that would be perfectly suited to testing the mettle of combatants in a high heat and flame conducting environment."

"You're all killjoys." Operative Goat muttered as he kicked at a pebble along the trail.

"Think of it as not being killjoys but taking any excuse to help my poor, sensitive underlings through any of their life struggles. I would really hate to miss out on a time to bond with you, so why don't you lead the way Operative Badger? I've got time to kill, and you three are obviously not doing anything to important."

"Well, on that note, I think I was supposed to meet with Ibiki Moreno on some information about Kirigakure movements." Operative Goat tried to use a body flicker but found himself held in place by the grip of Operative Hare.

"Nonsense, my young friend. I'm sure even if you were supposed to be doing something so important you would not have delayed it by following me. Ibiki will more than understand the importance of team training to let you be a little late." Kakashi then started to follow the smallest ANBU team member as he headed down the trail. The rear of the line of team members was brought up by Operative Hare pushing her cohort forward every few steps as he made his way haltingly after his superior. "Now, do try to keep up. I would hate to be the last one there and found in need of endurance training. I hear Guy Might needs a new early morning companion for his training so that he can continue using the innermost patrol line as his personal running course." Kakashi threw over his shoulder and started to laugh at the visible shudder that racked all three of his present subordinates and they took off in body flickers towards their destination.

 **~~~~Konohagakure Academy, Start of Class~~~~**

"Hello, students, I am Iruka Umino and will be your instructor for homeroom and basic studies while you are here. The man to my left is Mizuki who will be your secondary teacher for the classroom and your main instructor for physical education in the afternoons. The women to my right are Tsunade Senju and Shizune who are the school doctors and will also be teaching first aid and medical ninjutsu once some of you show an ability for the art of it." A brown-haired man with a scar across the top of his cheek-line and bridge of his nose said as he pointed first to a rather ordinary looking man with lanky silver hair and then to Tsunade and Shizune respectively as he introduced them.

Naruto sat in a desk at the upper left hand of the stadium like seating arrangement. He positively bounced in his chair as he continued looking towards his new teacher. His nerves were holding fine in the face of this new challenge, but the excitement was starting to make him feel giddy and unable to focus. He had to hold himself still and take several deep breaths to calm himself. _'Remember what big bro Kakashi said. A ninja keeps a trick up his sleeve and does not show everything. A ninja must hold himself still in preparation to do what needs to be done. A ninja is silent like a shadow, always ready and waiting.'_ He focused on the board as Iruka started to right out the main points that the class would start covering that day and wrote down the subjects that he would be studying for the foreseeable future in his classes.

"Now, class, we are going to start off with basic arithmetic, language studies and different dialects used in the Land of Fire, physical sciences, and start our look into the history of the Warring Clans Era regarding the clans that make up Konohagakure. Be sure, though, that this is only a stepping stone. We will be using these as a basis to start looking at the cultures of our surrounding nations about languages, dialects, and history. A good ninja must always be prepared, and some of the best ways to be prepared is to be knowledgeable about the places he is going to perform a mission. Never think you are done learning. You can always learn more, for when you truly stop learning is when you are dead." Iruka started his lecture for the morning as the class continued to copy down what he wrote up on the board, a smile on his face as he started down his personal path of passing on the Will of Fire to the new generation of guardians and warriors.


	3. Chapter 3

**/N:** I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto, you monster, destroyer of worlds and all things good, owns the rights to Naruto. Though, saving grace of this story is no way are we ending up with a kid named Boruto that Naruto ignores and somehow only has one Byakugan eye when the little sister (Homicidal Hinata Clone) has both. Genetics don't work like that Kishi.

 **~*~ Academy, Two Years from Graduation ~*~**

Naruto sat in his desk as he waited for his class to be dismissed for their afternoon training session. Iruka sat in the front of the class in his Chunin garb as the class quietly finished up a written analysis of one of the running battles between Iwa and Kumo during the Third Shinobi War. Naruto blew blond locks out of his face where they were starting to cover the orange lensed, blu goggles that he was wearing. A pair of blue shorts with orange trim rested over his legs with white tape holding a kunai and shuriken pouch on each leg. White tape covered his knees and ankles with blue shinobi sandals on his feet. A blue shirt and vest combo were on his upper body with tape on his elbows and wrists to reinforce those joints. An orange Konoha leaf resided on the left breastplate of the vest that vaguely resembled the sturdier flak jackets of the Chunin without the pouches on the upper chest and just two scroll holders on the side that were occupied by red scrolls. On the back of the vest, a large Uzumaki swirl in orange and blue was the main adornment.

"Class, remember to have your written analysis done by class on Monday. This afternoon and the next two days will be running survival exercises conducted by various veteran shinobi. I will read out the names of the teams that will be assigned together for this exercise."

Naruto perked up as he awaited his name to be called. "Blue Team will be supervised by Uchiha Shisui. Designated trainee leader will be Uzumaki Naruto. Katsumi and Aburame Shino will join Naruto on this exercise. Yellow team will be supervised by Shiranui Genma. The designated trainee leader is Haruno Sakura. She will joined by Inuzuka Kiba and Akimichi Choji. Finally, Black Team will be supervised by Mitarashi Anko. The designated trainee leader is Uchiha Sasuke, and he will be joined by Hyuga Hinata and Nara Shikamaru."

The class started to break off into their groups for the exercise as they exited the classroom for the Academy parade grounds where their supervisors would be waiting for them. Aburame Shino was soon behind Naruto, clothed in the volumous robes of the Aburame clan prefence. Black shinobi sandals were on his feet with a black shiobi pant taped down over the top of them. A dark grey, three quarter length sleeve windbreaker sat over the top of a full sleeved chain mail shirt. Wraparound sunglasses sat over his eyes with earmuff like extensions on it. Katsumi was beside Naruto clothed in black shinobi sandals, magenta shinobi capri-like pants, and a pink mixed with magenta stripes shirt with chainmail inserts over the neck and wrists. Her orange afro still stood out like a sore thumb in the classroom, but it was shorter trim to it with a six-pointed shuriken clip in it instead of the traditional four-pont that had adorned her hair in the beginning of the academy. Naruto knew through several rough-and-tumble spars that the class had been through that that clip was also a real shuriken, just made at half weight of the standard.

Naruto zeroed in on an average height man that stood in a black full length bodysuit with a Uchiha clan fans on the chest and a messy head of spiky black hair held down around the temples by a blue Konoha headband. "Uzumaki Naruto and Blue Team reporting for duty, Shisui-senpai."

"Rest easy, Blue Team. From here, we will head for Training Ground 41. There, we will set up an area of operations where you will establish a camping area and a defensible area for defending against staged attacks as if you were an advanced site for an invasionary force into Land of Grass territory. Training Ground 41 is high grasslands with very little sturdy greenery like the open plains within fifty kilometers of the village of Kusagakure and their capital."

The group marched behind their supervisor as they cut a path across the village to the northwest quadrant of the training grounds. Naruto was running his hands through his pouches on his legs, taking out one scroll or the other to glance at, and looked at his hip pouch for medical supplies and emergency rations. Shino had conducted a similar check of his supplies as they left the school grounds and was walking with a leisurely gait. Katsumi was blissfully unaware of any type of pre-check of her supplies and was admiring clothing and wares for sale in the merchant's square.

Naruto was counting something off on his fingers as they started down the row of shops that belonged to many of the village blacksmiths and armorers that were the last line of the main village square. Naruto looked at some of the signs they passed before seeing one that was of an anvil and lightning bolt marked Quicksilver. He rushed into the building and emerged about thirty seconds later. He was strapping a small dagger to a loop that had been in the small of his vest's back. He then juggled a couple packs of kunai in the air before tossing one each to Shino and Katsumi and stashing his own into his right pouch where Shisui could also spot a push dagger with his usual gear. "Need to make sure we have enough before we enter the field. I had to pick up my order and the old man from Lightning was nice enough to throw in a couple packs for you guys. Guess he has a daughter that went through these excersises last year and she burnt through kunai like they were going out of style. At least that's what he said."

"Good thinking, Naruto. A captain of a squad can never be too careful when it comes down to how equipped his team is. It's usually smart to be prepared to take on a nation and only need a fraction of your equipment." Shisui smiled down, a touch of prideful approval on his face as he rubbed Naruto's mop of blond hair.

The rest of the walk went on in silence as they approached the edge of the field. "Ok, Blue Team, welcome to Training Ground 41. I'll be observing your stratagems and then staging attacks at intervals to keep you on your toes. You are relagated to the back half of the field to make your encampment and defensive position. You have today to set it all up. At 1700, I will return and escort you all back to the village where you can finish procuring sleeping and food supplies. From this moment on, you cannot enter any of the shinobi supply shops, blacksmiths, or armorers. I will arrive tomorrow by 0800 and you three are to be here by that time. If you arrive even by 0801, you will be classified as a deserter for the exercise and the other members of the team will be tasked with your capture and imprisonment through the rest of the exercise. There is also a chance that one or more of the other teams are being tasked with the objective of driving you from your area of operation and capturing this scroll." Shisui took out a medium sized black scroll with white edges from his flak-jacket and tossed it to Naruto. "You can hide that anywhere within the camp, but once placed it cannot be moved from that spot till the end of the exercise. It represents an intelligence briefing, whether it be invasion plans, supply routes, or even a counter-cipher to enemy encryption."

"Understood, commander." Naruto snapped a Konoha salute of right fist to the middle of his chest before bowing slightly to the Jounin in front of him. Shino and Katsumi echoed Naruto as they too snapped off salutes. "Are there any other special rules that we should be aware of?"

Shisui smiled again and motioned for Shino to take a step forward. "In certain circumstances, one designated team member, in this case Shino-san, is allowed to act as a forward scout and can exit the area of operation for up to two hour intervals. When he is sent out, the two remaining teammembers are liable to stay within fifty meters of the main defensive position. He also is obligated to then stay in the campsite for double the amount of time that he was outside the perimeter. So if he is out for thirty minutes, he has to stay for an hour before he can head out again. I will be keeping track of that. This is a thirty-six hour exercise not including the four hour prep period this afternoon." He then smiled at the three as they started to go over the information amongst themselves. "Good luck and Kami speed you along. Now get in there, grunts."

 **~*~ Hokage's Office, Late Evening ~*~**

Hiruzen sat behind his Hokage's desk, back turned so he could look out the window over the village. Jiraiya and Fugaku sat in chairs pulled up to either side of them as they both sipped on small saucers of warm sake. The twilight of the sunlight dropping behind the Hokage Monument cast an orange glow over the village. The view seemed to be holding the three men in a miraculous trance that they were unwilling to break. A creak of the door opening and a cane thumping across the flooring did break the spell as Danzo made his way around the desk and sat in an unoccupied chair next to Fugaku with three sets of eyes now watching his moves.

"Hokage-sama, the preparations for the first survival exercises of this term have concluded. By this time tomorrow, we will start to weed out those unsuited for frontline duty of the first graduating class of our revamped program. The second class will just be having cut and dry exercises to start seeing how well they operate in three man cells instead of the eight man platoons that they've been practicing in for the first two years." Danzo let out a deep sigh as he settled into his chair after saying his piece.

"Good, that puts some of our lesser worries to rest. Jiraiya, what do you have to report?"

Jiraiya finished his saucer and set it on the edge of the desk and rubbing his hands over his face. "The international situation with the major countries is in a delicate five-way tug-of-war. Kumo and Iwa are in the process of tugging at it and trying to get allegiance of the Land of Frost and Ishigakure. Ishigakure seems like they're willing to play ball with Iwa mainly because Suna has cut ties within the last two years because of their economic dip caused by the Daimyo. Ishigakure needs the money, but they aren't willing to let a power like Land of Fire or Konoha put in even an audience request. I've been rebuffed every time I've even tried to speak with the Chief Jounin and the lesser court nobles got similar results. Frost is still holding strong, but with the princess having gone into hiding because of Kazehana Doto's coup, I can't be sure how long that will hold. Doto doesn't strike me as someone that wants to be a warlord's flunkie. He wants to be the warlord himself so he's just as likely to attack Kumo as help them."

"That is both good and bad, but much more on the good side of things. We still have the plans from the Third Shinobi War for Ishigakure that we never had to use because Suna had already put them down before calling for our help with Iwa in Grass and Rain." Fugaku said as he sat back in his chair.

"True, we still have that. Danzo, make sure to go back over that plan and update it with Fugaku to what our current stockpile and troop numbers could handle." Hiruzen said before looking back to Jiraiya, "I'm sensing that there's something else as well."

"Yes, the Land of Rain was taken over by a group named Akatsuki. The civil war with Hanzo finally ended within the last couple months. Hanzo is currently missing and there is no confirmation that he might even be alive at all. I would have to say that at this point, he's very much dead. The problem with Akatsuki is that they have a very anti-Konoha lean. Apparently, there was an operation that might have affected them that ANBU carried out in helping Hanzo expunge them before the full outbreak of the Third Shinobi War. Danzo, any input?"

"Root forces were the ANBU to take care of that operation, but I was led to believe by my own observations for the first part of the operation that they were wiped out. Hanzo even forwarded full payment and the information that none had survived when he sent Root back a week after my departure."

"It appears that Hanzo wiped out the foot soldiers, but somehow missed one or two of the co-leaders from that time. What was Root doing in the area at that time?"

"Protection of Konoha assets in preparation for the outbreak of war. Hanzo agreed to pay for the help to exterminate them that we could funnel to our acquisitions for the front with Kusagakure. He also promised that he would personally rebuff any advances by non-Konoha forces that crossed with violent intent. He ended up leading four sorties from Amegakure to repel Iwa and Kusa forces that were trying to circumvent the bulk of our border defences."

"Well, then it couldn't be avoided. What type of threat do they represent, Jiraiya?"

"A very heavy threat on a national scale. Akatsuki, now, seems to be made up of about five to six S-rank criminals right now. The two leading parties of Akatsuki still haven't been identified. Orochimaru is, or was, a member of Akatsuki since about two years after the Kyubi incident. I haven't been able to one hundred percent confirm his continuing presence in the group."Jiraiya breathed deep as he saw the surprise come to the other men's faces. "I have been steadily trying to nail down an infallible route for information, but they only seem to approach highly powerful, unaffiliated shinobi and kunoichi. There's two identified members that I have gotten photographic or visiual confirmation of membership. The first comes through visual by Momochi Zabuza. He was approached by Hoshigaki Kisame for membership about six months ago. He said that Kisame was clothed in a black cloak with red clouds and a straw kasa hat. There was a second person with him in the same uniform that Zabuza couldn't identify at the time. I was able to get a picture of Kisame and his partner from a deep cover Amegakure source that was involved with one of the main border stations facing Kusagakure. The picture was confirmed to still be the same guy by Zabuza and I was able to identify with an Iwa blackbook addition to their Bingo Book, Deidara. Deidara is fourteen to fifteen years old, ex-member of the Explosion Corps, and a defected student of Onoki of Both Scales. He defected roughly eight months to a year ago."

Danzo and Hiruzen exchanged glances with each other as Fugaku started to knead his hands as he thought over ramifications. "Jiraiya, do we have any idea on the remainder of the membership?"

"Not at all. Best I can say is we know half of the day to day people. The two officers of the organization are also unknown to us, so realistically, we know a quarter of the organization. Orochimaru, if he is still in the organisation, seems to be right below the two leaders. We do know that they operate in pairs. While I haven't been able to identify anyone, there is still the hearsay that has spread over the minor countries and information networks there. Anyone with a black cloak and red clouds is always seen with someone with the same get-up in the same general vicinity. They've only got full support of Amegakure still, though, and rumors indicate that some of the operatives do mercenary work for Iwagakure from time to time as well. Kusagakure, Takigakure, Hoshigakure, Yugakure, Shimogakure,Tanigakure, and Ishigakure have rebuffed initial contact from the representatives of Amegakure that have gone out. If it comes down to it, we are going to have to decide how we want to expand the Land of Fire borders and which would be worth the battle to absord."

"Careful, Jiraiya, this is wandering dangerously close to very dicey territory." Fugaku said as he looked to the Hokage.

"As much as I hate to say it, I am having to look at this as a survivor of the Third Shinobi War and a hero of the Second Shinobi War and not the peaceful sage that I have been since those chaotic times. Danzo, it might be time for you to take the stage since Root has more experience operating in battlefield zones. The village needs these plans for our safety and the betterment of the world."

Danzo didn't quite smile at the deferrence that the Sannin was showing him. "Hiruzen, I know that this sounds like what got us involved in the Second Shinobi War and how the misstep back then let it all spiral out of control. Land of Iron is going to stay independent no matter what shinobi force invades. I think we can allow the concession of Iwagakure taking over Tanigakure because Suna's northern border is the greater desert compared to the rest of the country. Kusagakure, Takigakure, and Yugakure already have alliances with Konoha and could probably be convinced to fall under our umbrella without any bloodshed whatsoever as long as we convince them of the threat of Amegakure and other radical minor countries trying something like the Land of Sky did during the Second Shinobi War. Uzushiogakure has been abandoned for roughly twenty-five years, but we will have to occupy it to make sure we have a barrier force to repel Kumo, Kiri, and pirate forces while also having a strategic swing access to the land bridge. Tanigakure we will have to leave to Suna, a better appeasement than bolstered aid like we have been sending. That will boost food and water supply so that they can try to countermand the Daimyo and establish a pro-shinobi Daimyo and strengthen our alliance."

"What about the forces in the north and southeast?" Fugaku was absorbed in Danzo's talk. This had been the first he had heard of these plans that seemed to have been in place from when the Second Shinobi War broke out thirty years ago.

"Yes, Danzo, what are the plans for the north? The southeast would still have to go through Uzushiogakure and I don't think Kirigakure would be to keen on that since they lost three quarters of their forces at the close of the Second Shinobi War to Uzushio and it's seal traps when they and Kumo attacked out of spite from being repelled by Konoha." Hiruzen was smoking his pipe non-stop at this point. The talk had gone to the disturbing areas of what Hiruzen had never wanted to have to plan out again. His initial missteps when he was a young Hokage had been in this vein and had led to the initial sprawling battles with Suna and Iwa in the west that started the second war he had been involved in on a major scale.

"The Land of Tea and Mountain's Graveyard are insignificant at this point. They hold no value strategically and resource-wise are outdone already by Grass, Hot Water, and our own Fire farmers and artisans when it comes to production. We will need to keep Shimogakure and the rest of the Land of Frost out of Kumo's hands though. We need to isolate them to the maximum just as much as we need to isolate Kirigakure. They are the only ones that can threaten us on the open seas and Frost would provide technological superiority by diverting a lot of our, sensitively put, under-the-table deals to enemy forces. A-dono and Kirabi-dono will not be happy, but as long as we keep the pressure up on their southeastern border A will send Kirabi there to 'protect the country'. From there, we will only have to contend with the Nibi's container. Jiraiya, I will need your network to start ferreting out full profiles on the Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, Nanabi, and Hachibi containers. We know that the Ichibi container is pretty unstable at this point and while the Nanabi container is allied with us through Takigakure, but we will need an idea on how to counter them if Takigakure doesn't want to come to our side peacefully."

"I'll get my network on it immediately and try to see what exactly we will be able to dig up. It's rather interesting that the levels of difficulty for information to get files on any of the jinchuriki really. Naruto's file doesn't even mention the Kyubi at all and neither do any of the other children's file. It would be on pure hearsay at this point on who the jinchuriki is within Konoha since we have been able to bury the secret better with the new Academy machinations keeping most of the students out of the public eye almost entirely. Kirabi and the jinchuriki for the Nibi will be along the same level as Naruto's file. Both are loved by the populace because of sacrifices made by Kirabi during the Third Shinobi War. The jinchuriki for the Rokubi hasn't been seen within Kirigakure, and even the Land of Water, since the outbreak of the civil war about four years ago. His file is assuredly outdated, but with the missing-nin angle we should be able to get something just not a whole lot of it. Han and Roshi are both well known to us, and they are reclusive sons of bitches. They took the freedom that their dear, beloved Uncle Onoki gave them and ran with it. They haven't run a village sanctioned mission in close to three years, but they did go through an international Bingo Book update when they acted as Onoki's bodyguards for the Chunin Exams last year in Kumo. Subaki no Gaara, Yagura, and the Nanabi jinchuriki will be the three easiest to get a detailed file on. Zabuza and Terumi Mei both have thoroughly detailed files that they can forward on Yagura and the old files on the other Kiri jinchuriki, Utakata I believe his name is. Gaara is an allied shinobi trainee and our planted agent within the Kazekage tower can sends us the file and missions that have been handed out in regards to the boy. The Nanabi jinchuriki will have a file that goes along with Suien, the Chief Jounin, and the Chief Jounin's heir that was put together by the planted seed that is the Chief Jounin's wife."

"Good. What plans do you have regarding the classes advancing through the new academy structure?"

Danzo and Fugaku paid close attention to the coming discussion. "I have an obligation to pass on the Uzumaki sealing techniques that have been passed to my safe keeping from Minato and Kushina. Naruto will also start training on some of the other signature techniques that I can pass on as Minato's legacy to him. I also plan to check into a few interesting possibilities from his written reports to see which way his elemental nature may take him in the ninjutsu department." Jiraiya had stars in his eyes as he recalled some of the more creative ideas that the men and woman of the High Council had read over from Naruto in action reports and assault ideas that had been assigned. "I also seem to have a feeling that while Tsunade is getting ready to pick one apprentice from Naruto's class, I want to try Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke as more running apprentices as I'll only be here for a month or two at a time over the next two years till their graduation."

Fugaku was awestruck with the last proposal. "Thank you, Jiraiya-dono. I would be more than honored for you to take an interest in Sasuke's training." He bowed slightly in his chair towards the present member of the Sannin before sitting back and refilling his saucer with sake.

Danzo spoke next. "Jiraiya, what do you plan to do about Akatsuki? We need a surefire way to collect information on their movements."

Hiruzen interrupted at this point. "I actually have an idea at this point. They would be looking for S-rank threats to recruit as we do not how large they want to grow the organization. We have a few close to S-rank jounin that would be bumped to S-rank should a certain type of incident occur. The question at that point would be which jounin do we have take on this task to infiltrate a dangerous organization with no potential help ever forthcoming from the village."

Fugaku was the first to respond. "I have an idea..."

 **~*~ Training Ground 41, 18 hours into 36 hour excercise ~*~**

Naruto was on watch for the dead of night shift. Katsumi had taken the first shift and awoken Naruto two hours ago. He had an hour left till he woke up Shino and settled back in for the last couple hours of sleep available. He stood in the only choke-point that he had left open in the field of traps that they had added to this afternoon by his planning and Shino setting the traps on his advanced scouting times.

They had survived attacks from Shisui on at least four occasions over the day. They had only had to redo the inner cordon of traps because Shisui had always appeared wtihin their fifty meter active operation boundary every time. No other teams had tried to assault their position, but Naruto wasn't counting on that holding out much longer. A rustling of grass on the edge of the field caused Naruto to snap his head in that direction before hefty a small rounded stone disc that he threw out at a ninety-degree angle from him away from where the rustle had occured. He slowly and quietly drifted back within the edge of the camp and heading to the small grass covered lean-to that the three had constructed and then covered with the grass that they had originally dug up to create the floor of their lean-to. He touched each of his compatriots lightly on the shoulders and then motioining for silence in sign language as their eyes opened immediately. He crept back to the flame that had served as their dinner fire and security light covered over by a dirt and grass ceiling. He dumped his canteen to kill the fire before lowering the dirt side of the ceiling over the fire pit.

The small cleared out area they had created was submerged back into the light of the full moon that had covered what little glow of the fire under the ceiling. "Enemy contact, they are at 10 o'clock approximately three hundred meters out. Sent out distraction noise immitating a sentry reacting to our seven o'clock position at one hundred meters. Outer cordon should be tripped, but inner cordon should be unbreached till ambush or full assault, whatever team decides to attack first.

Shino spoke in a whisper that was pretty much his normal tone anyway. "My hive alerts me that it is two three man teams advancing. Leap frog with a smaller manji formation for movement pattern. I would suggest that I use some of the forward scouting time allotted to me for me to move to our six o'clock at one hundred and fifty meters. Katsumi should stay at our seven o'clock at forty five meters in case one of the teams moves to sweep within the inner cordon. Naruto, I would hazard a guess that once we two are engaged with one team that you could lead the opposing team through the kill zone of the inner cordon while remaining unharmed and able to engage afterwards to mop up survivors."

"I think Shino's idea sounds pretty good, Naruto." Katsumi, eyes open more than a squint for the first time all day said as she looked back and forth between the boys using the talk to adjust fully to the night vision that would be required for this attack.

"Ok, Shino, head out in t-minus twenty seconds. Katsumi, first head to our established inner chokepoint and then circle our fifty meter border back to the seven o'clock position and line up your ambush point to the outer chokepoint. I'll skirt our radius counter to you, check your positioning, and then draw in the second team using the sentry-line through the killzone. Shino, mark!" Naruto's harsh whisper at the end immediately preceeded Shino disappearing into the night. Katsumi and Naruto sat in the dark for another twenty seconds before Naruto nodded and Katsumi lead the way out of the camp.

The night air was still as the light of the white full moon was splaying out in front of Naruto. He used a small mirror to periodically check around him as he stayed low in the five foot high grass of the plain. The check he was conducting stopped as he heard a loud grunt from several tens of meters to his left and slightly behind him. The shuriken and kunai that the traps were armed with were really a grey clay that had red paint filling them to denote an injury or kill if they were to strike a person. He felt a crawling sensation of a kikaichu beetle on the back of his neck that signalled Shino was in place. That grunt must have been the first shinobi-in-training springing one of the traps. His mirror moved again in the direction of the running confrontation so he could try to pick up the second team's movement. He tossed the mirror in the air after seeing movement and watched as a shuriken hit the mirror and both shattered into a spiraling debris field on the edge of his operation zone.

He dashed down the trail that only he and his team could recognize. They had carefully walked the circumfrence of this trail a handful of times before erasing any trace of its existence in the daylight of early morning before even Shisui had arrived. Naruto let a mischievious smirk break out over his face as he heard a small bark and heavy breathing follow along behind and to his right. The smirk started to fall as he realized that if Kiba and his new puppy Akamaru were behind him, then his crush would not be too far behind. Sakura was traditionally book smart to his street smarts, but she wasn't afraid to speak her mind clearly and that had been what had caught his eye over the last year of the Academy and led to the small crush that he now harbored for her.

 _'It's a part of the exercise, Uzumaki. Get your head in the game.'_ He thought to himself as he lead his pursuers straight into the teeth of what he and Shino dubbed the killzone. Kunai and shuriken launchers were strewn about either side of the walkway just waiting for Naruto to trigger the first line and then divert to the safety path that he had set up for the rest to do their part along any convential avenues of escape. He turned in place to hear the stalks start to crunch as Kiba and Choji barreled towards him, unknowing of the danger that represented. He took out a regular kunai and threw it straight down hard to where five ninja steel wires intersected with each other. As soon as he let fly with the kunai, Naruto jumped into the air and back to his left so he was truly on the very edge of the fifty meter radius that Shisui had authorized for the mock mission.

Clay shuriken flew in arcs barely a foot above the ground as the first line of ambush. A small yelp echoed out as Akamaru must have been struck by one hard enough to cause it to shatter open. Luckily, no lasting damage would exist as the clay had a seal that caused it to go to powder once broken on flesh, an expensive feature but one the Hokage had been happy to authorize to increase the quality of shinobi the village produced. Kiba let a short howl of anger as the other four launchers started to fire. Shuriken fired to the right and left side of the path as two launchers of kunai spit their contingent out in a six foot high line straight down the path. Grunts and moans echoed from the two shinobi that had been hot on his heels, yet no sound of a girl being hit greeted Naruto's ears.

Sakura hopped into his vision as the launchers stopped firing. She deflected the closer trailing kunai before throwing four shuriken towards Naruto causing him to hit the dirt and somersault backwards to his feet again. He turned and dashed back down the path with a kunai now in each hand, cutting more wires as he went. A trip-line that would send Sakura onto a camouflage sheet coated in the paint simulating a tiger pit trap sprung up as more shuriken flew just above the top of the grass. She gracefully executed a forward dive through the air landing just on the other side of the sheet and returned fire with two kunai that jammed the shuriken launchers. _'Damn, she's good at this.'_ Naruto's wandering thoughts nearly cost him as she jumped with a small chakra boost and landed beside him.

Naruto slid forward on his below the swipe of a clay kunai courtesy of Sakura. He threw a dummy kunai with his left hand, still weaker though the Academy had spent the last six months teaching the students to be competent ambidextrous fighters. His right hand found a seemingly stray wire that caused a shuriken to be launched from the ground and catching Sakura in the left triceps as she couldn't quite react in time. A muffled gasp left her mouth before she threw out a handful of clay shuriken and jumped back to the edge of the tiger pit trap to give her space.

Sakura then took out what looked like a baton and spun it in her right hand as she let her left arm hang free. She charged forward again into close range with Naruto and started swinging the baton like one would a long dagger or tanto. He met her baton with two wooden kunai lined with paint and parried the strikes that got too close while slipping around the wider strikes. He heard rustling coming from Shino's direction and stood his ground in the fight, waiting for the reinforcements that would be his teammates. Sakura must have heard the rustling too as she soon redoubled her attacks in an effort to finish off their confrontation. Naruto went to block a sweeping strike with his kunai before, purposely, dropping the kunai and letting the baton go by under his arm. His arm then braced against Sakura's outstretched ones allowing him to push off and roll inside her guard where he ran the edge of his right kunai that still had paint on it down the spine of her shirt and backing several feet away as they both fought to catch their breath.

"So close, shannaro! I'll get you next time, Naruto." Sakura said as she stood straight and tall to allow the maximum amount of air into her lungs. "These tricks won't work twice, ya'know."

"That was pretty good, Sakura-san. I'll be waiting for next time." Naruto was just glad that a cloud had started to obscure the moon some so that Sakura couldn't see the blush that still resided on his face from being in such close proximity to his crush.

Before anything else could be said Shino and Katsumi entered the cleared fighting area and a flare ignited in the sky a ways to thier left by the edge of the training field. Shisui materialised out of the darkness as he waved to the four students. "Follow me, everyone. The other supervisors and I are going to give each team a debrief together and then we will separate to cover the good and the bad that we saw with each team individually." Naruto smiled and high fived Shino and Katsumi as they fell into line with Shisui and Sakura leading them towards the gathering point.

Shiranui Genma stood facing the students askance with a heavy-duty, elongated fukiya dart in his mouth. His bandana that held his forehead protector was done up so the knot was in the front and he had the standard Chunin and Jounin attire on. Another man that Naruto hadn't met stood next to him. He had spiked up, gravity-defying dark hair, regular Chunin and Jounin garb, and was still wearing a pair of red sunglasses even in the dark. The man stepped in front of Genma as Shisui joined them. "Hello, I am Yamashiro Aoba. Tonight we saw a running battle take place with two-to-one odds in a simulated version of Kusagakure's surrounding fields. Anyone want to venture a guess on what battle this would be a simulation of?" Sakura's hand shot up. "Yes, Haruno."

"This would have been a reconstruction of the forward assault of Konoha forces during the middle of the Second Shinobi War that came to be down as the Battle of Blood Fields where Konoha faced two-to-one odds made up of Iwa and subjugated Kusa forces. The outcome was a stalemate in the casulty columns but led to the demoralization of the home Kusa forces that led to them turning on Iwa occupiers and the eventual closing of Kusa's borders to Iwa and Suna fighters and focused the rest of the advance by those forces through Amegakure controlled lands for the rest of the war."

Genma answered for the supervisors. "That is completely correct, Haruno. Now, does anyone else want to venture a guess on how tonight mirrored the actual battle?"

Shino answered this time. "Konoha forces were ambushed in the second watch to begin altercations with the enemy. Traps laid around the camps dealt heavy casulties to the Kusa forces that had not been expecting the ingenuity of Konoha troops. The battle was joined by Team Sarutobi at the beginning of the third watch as they arrived from a reinforcement order from Ame by the Hokage. Afterwards, Konoha forces experienced a breakdown in communication from the higher ups of Team Sarutobi and the reinvigorated Team Sakumo that had been in command before. They broke ranks and charged after the retreating Kusa forces into the advancing Iwa forces and only the intervention of Sakumo Hatake on the frontlines saved the battle from turning back into a rout and ending in a stalemate of several days before Iwa and Konoha both withdrew to their forward supply depots ten kilometers from the Blood Fields."

"Correct, Aburame-kun." Shisui said. "Blue Team, start heading back to your campsite. I will meet you there in five minutes to go over our personal debrief. Yellow and Green Teams, head to rendevous point alpha to await your supervisors arrival. Dismissed." The nine students snapped standard salutes before turning and following their respective team leaders to where they were to meet.

"Your team did good, Shisui-san. I will report the conclusions we have to Hokage-sama come morning. What did you notice about Yellow Team?" Genma said as the supervisors turned to each other to compare notes of the training battles so they could better critique what happened.

 **~*~ Hokage Office, Morning ~*~**

"Hokage-sama, you asked to see me?" Shisui bowed as he saluted once he had entered into the office.

"Ah, Shisui-san, at ease. What can you tell me of Blue Team?"

"Well, Hokage-sama, Uzumaki Naruto and Aburame Shino seem to work together well though they will probably grow into different areas of expertise. Katsumi is a decent enough for a young kunoichi, but I have reservations of placing her on a frontline squad. I would more likely set her as a research or cryptology department designee. She has interesting ideas and an eye for detail, yet she doesn't excel at the execution of those things. Naruto-kun is rather unorthodox, but it's more unorthodox in the way that Kakashi-senpai or Itachi-kun would be considered unorthodox. Shino-san is by the book and would be a good backbone to build around with an advance team or first responder squad."

"Hmm, I see. I am glad that they are still advancing at a nice pace. I have seen these qualities start to develop from the reports that I have been getting from the other Jounin supervisors and the Chunin instructors. Now, I called you here for another reason as well." Hiruzen paused at this point as the ANBU left there positions and moved out of the office. Hiruzen then activated the privacy seals in the office. "This is a mission through your ears only. You come highly recommended from Shimura Danzo and Uchiha Fugaku for this assignment. Before we continue this talk, do you accept the mission in its entirety?"

Shisui paused for a second as he looked at the serious expression of the Sandaime Hokage who was now inspiring trepidation and fear. _'This must be the face of the Kami no Shinobi.'_ "I accept, Lord Hokage. What is your command?"

"You are going to be taking a very important role in the Sanin Jiraiya's information network by trying to infiltrate a terrorist organisation called Akatsuki that just took control of the village of Amegakure. We will stage an incident of you killing Konoha teammates and going rogue. The teammates you will kill are really captured enemy shinobi that we have doctored the papers of to say they were deep cover agents that we have just finished debriefing and you are leading on a vital search and destroy mission in the territory of Amegakure. You will finish the exercise today with your assigned team and then take the next five days to prepare for this mission. Jiraiya will give you the instructions on how to contact him with information drops over that period of time. You will make your way to the border of Amegakure and execute your team within the next six days. Use the best of your skills to do it as quickly as possible. Report to Root Rally Point Bravo at 1930 five days from now."

"Understood, Lord Hokage. I serve the great tree of Konoha."

"The Leaf always gives shade to the worthy." Hiruzen sighed as Shisui disappeared via Shunshin no Jutsu. "I just hope we are still worthy of your loyalty, young Uchiha prince."

 **~*~ Amegakure, Six Days Later Late Afternoon ~*~**

"Hold here." Shisui raised a fist as the other four men behind him came to a stop.

"Fucking finally. About time we took a break, you damn Uchiha prick." A tall bald man layered in muscle said as three average looking men paused on either side of the taller man. They gasped in quick intakes of breath as they started to look between the two as the tension started to rise.

"You know the problem with the rest of my clan?"

"What? They a bunch of spineless dirtbags that can't even get it up anymore?" The man answered with a sneer before spitting towards Shisui's feet.

"Almost. They're too weak to stand up to the vermin that think they are our equals. We descend from the Sage of the Six Paths. We were meant to rule this world, while you all were meant to be our footrests." Shisui noticed a two-tone man that seemingly had a plant growing out of him watching the confrontation from behind a tree fifty meters to his left. "Now, do me a favor and die, Konoha scum!" Shisui slipped into an instantaneous Shunshin no Jutsu. He reappeared with his ninja-to buried through the throat of the bald man. He released his blade and flashed through hand signs, ending and holding the Tiger sign. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!" A large ball of fire in the shape of a dragon's head shot forth from his mouth and incinerated two of the other men.

The last man jumped back and away, flinging a kunai towards Shisui as he dodged underneath the man. Shisui made a quick handsign that allowed the seals holding the man's chakra captive to release slightly. The man felt the chakra rush his system and started to weave handsigns of his own. "Water Style: Water Bullet!"

Shisui looked up at the man before smirking. His eyes spun in the Mangekyo Sharingan that he had gained years before and kept secret from all of the clan except for Itachi. "Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder!" The lightning bolts flew from his hands as he thrusted up and towards the man. They blasted through the water bullet, scattering it, and continuing on. The bolts connected with the man causing his mouth to open in a silent scream as his nervous system fried and muscles no longer responded to his commands. The man landed in a heap and Shisui approached his involuntarily twitching body. "Ah, freedom from the shackles of the ideological fools." A kunai wiped out of his pouch and to his hand in a milisecond before flying straight and true connecting with the man's forehead.

The two-tone man stepped out from behind the tree as Shisui struck a line through his Konoha symbol and replaced the protector from his forehead to his bicep. "You are rather interesting, my young Uchiha. Wait here." The white half of his face conveyed curiosity, even in his speech, while the black side continued to glower at him. **"Don't leave, or I'll find and eat you."** Shisui shivered slightly at the tone of the black half, evil incarnate. The man disappeared back into the underbrush.

Minutes passed as Shisui waited in the clearing. Finally, the two-tone man reappeared with another man that had black spiky hair, a black robe with red clouds, and an orange swirl mask over his face. "I am Madara Uchiha, my clansmen, but you can call me Tobi."

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading this installment of Hammer of Titans, Splitters of the World. Please leave a review with any questions or constructive criticism. Enjoy your week and hope this added to some of your happiness and enjoyment.

DS04Oonga Out.


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